Could the Jaguars land FSU star DeMarcus Walker in the 3rd round?

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The Jaguars will likely look to add pass rush at some point in the 2017 NFL Draft - Could they land a Jacksonville native in the 3rd round?

By Jordan de Lugo

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The Jaguars will almost certainly draft a pass rusher of some form at some point in the 2017 NFL Draft. With the Jaguars having only Yannick Ngakoue, Calais Campbell, and Malik Jackson as proven pass rushers they will need to either develop Dante Fowler into a reliable pass rusher or draft someone. Sure, the Jaguars also have the 2016 7th round pick Jonathan Woodard who is coming off on an achilles, but the Jaguars can't rely on that heading into the season. 

Let's take a look at Jacksonville native and FSU star DeMarcus Walker. He was a dominant, and I do mean dominant, force for FSU at times over the last two seasons. Walker was a freshman during FSU's 2013 title run, but his true impact wasn't seen until his junior year. During his final two years at FSU Walker racked up 25 sacks and 33.5 tackles for loss. At times he was seemingly a one man wrecking crew for the Seminoles. He's shown the versatility to be effective at almost every position on the defensive line and at times shows extreme quickness off the ball and incredibly strong hands. However, the Sandalwood alumn does not come without questions.

While he provides position versatility Walker doesn't appear ready to dominate at any one position in the NFL. He's 6'4'' tall and 280 pounds which means he may end up a strong side defensive end or become a 3 technique at the next level - still the lack of a defined role could scare some teams off. Then there's his lateral quickness and overall speed - neither of which are overly impressive. And an inconsistent motor at times has teams wondering what they will get from Walker at the next level. 

Walker projects to be a guy that can play strong side defensive end or even 3 technique in the NFL, which would make him a perfect understudy for the Jaguars' Calais Campbell, who will play strong side end in base packages and kick inside to 3 tech in nickel situations. I've always believed that DeMarcus Walker would make a late draft push and be a mid to high second round pick - but that push seemingly hasn't come and it appears Walker could fall all the way to the third round. If he does slide Jaguars should pounce. Walker has flashed incredible talent during his time at FSU and always seems to get stronger through out the course of a game. Let him learn from one of the best - Calais Campbell. This would especially make sense if the Jaguars elect to address running back and offensive line in the first two rounds.

Would you like to see DeMarcus Walker in Jacksonville?

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