With the help of a teammate, DeMarcus Walker survived a brutal rookie season... Now, he's thriving

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — “It was really a gut check,” Denver Broncos defensive end DeMarcus Walker said on Monday, thinking back on his rookie season and not necessarily intending the pun about all the weight he was asked to lose.

Walker, a second-round draft pick in 2017 came to Denver off of a senior season that saw him amass 16 sacks at Florida State, the second most of anybody in FBS. He was simply dominant.

In Denver, many thought his selection was yet another attempt to replace the interior pass rush provided by Malik Jackson during the Super Bowl season of 2015.

There was just one problem, size wise, Walker was a bit of tweener by NFL standards, and after the first day of training camp, the Broncos were down two of their three best outside linebackers. Shaq Barrett was recovering from hip surgery, and Shane Ray had just broken his wrist. Walker was asked to cut weight and become an outside linebacker.

While already having to make the difficult transition from college to the pros, Walker was now being asked to learn two positions and change his body entirely. He went from somewhere in the neighborhood of 280 pounds all the way down to 238. He went from putting his hand in the ground and wreaking havoc on every play to learning coverage schemes.

“Running coverage was the hardest part… I hadn’t dropped [in coverage] since my sophomore year of college,” he admitted. “Just learning the read techniques, dropping into your zone and reading the quarterback’s eyes, all that stuff I had to refresh to my brain and my body.”

To put it lightly, the experiment—if you will—did not work. As he tried to make three transitions all at once, the highly-prized pick was completely ineffective for the Broncos, only appearing in 10 games—including a stretch of five straight inactive weeks—and only amassing seven tackles and one sack the whole season.

For a confident player coming from a big-time football school where he was a big man on campus, becoming an afterthought on gamedays was not easy. Even from an outsider’s perspective, it was obvious that the struggles to adjust were taking a toll on him throughout the season. The attempt to bounce a tweener to one side left him more stuck in the middle than ever.

All along the tough ride, though, Walker had a rock in the Denver Broncos locker room, somebody that could relate to him. Interestingly enough, just one year earlier, another Broncos’ defender who was drafted in the second round had gone through similar struggles.

As a rookie, 2016 second-round pick Adam Gotsis amassed just nine tackles as he made the transition to the league while also recovering from a torn ACL. As he blossomed into a starter during his sophomore season, he also became a shoulder to lean on for Walker.

“I salute Adam because when I was going through it last year, Adam took me under his wing,” the second-year pro said. “When it came to like needing some words, like positive words, Adam was that guy. Adam Gotsis was that guy with me who kept my head up, who told me about his struggles and just helped me get through it. In the offseason, we worked out together sometimes in Lone Tree, and after workouts, we’d just sit down and talk.  That was one person who, he can call me anything, I’d give him anything, I’d give him my all because that guy really took me under his wing last year.”

Towards the end of the season, Walker began the transition back to his natural position on the end of the defensive line, joining Gotsis in the DL room and getting back to himself. In Week 17, playing as a defensive end, the rookie generated three of his seven tackles on the year and his only sack.

It came as no surprise when head coach Vance Joseph announced in the offseason that he would move to the line full time.

Now, with a little help from his “favorite food,” Mom’s fried chicken, and a lot of hard work in the weight room, the former Florida State star is back at his natural playing weight of 280 pounds, and in practice, he’s back at his natural position.

“Oh man, I’m 100 times further down the road,” he said, comparing this year to last. “I’m just in shape, play recognition, strength. I’m just really proud of my offseason training and just how fast I can recover.”

You can see it in his face, you can hear it in his voice, you can feel it when you’re around him, DeMarcus Walker has his swagger back.

“Way easier. Way more smooth. Practice is easy now, it seriously is,” he added. “Knowing what to play at, knowing what I’m playing. It’s smooth sailing just doing my job and continuing to get better every single day.”

A player who quickly became an afterthought last season now, in an odd twist, could be the key to the next level. If the highly publicized outside-linebacking group of Von Miller, Bradley Chubb, Shaq Barrett and Shane Ray can add a serious interior-rush threat to the likes of Derek Wolfe and Shelby Harris—solid pass rushers in their own right—well, Walker said it best, “It can be something sensational.”

Oh, and speaking of Chubb, has Walker offered any advice for another guy making the transition to the pros and trying to learn the same two positions? Not exactly.

“When me and Chubb do our talking, it’s mostly when he’s playing outside, and I’m at [end]. We just talk about how to take advantage of the offensive line,” he explained. “I think we’re undefeated right now.”

Quarterbacks beware.