FLOWERY BRANCH – Falcons coach Raheem Morris admitted he was hesitant to say it, because with such a comment comes heightened expectations, but he heaped rare praise on rookie edge rusher Jalon Walker.
Not about the on-field player, though he’s glowed plenty about that. But he lauded Walker as a potential team captain.
“Every time you talk with him, you feel like (he gets it),” Morris said. “I hate to even talk about him this way, but when you talk to guys like that, you see future captains in these guys’ makeups. The team will decide that, and he’ll decide that. But you see the makeup is different with those guys when they walk in the room.”
Walker’s response: “I take that with honor and pride. That’s what I pride myself on, being that leader and captain for the ballclub. Me being here is going to encourage the rest of the team and myself to be better and keep leading the team.”
Those who’ve followed Walker’s path likely won’t be surprised by any of this. He emerged as a well-respected leader at Georgia; so adored that he was constantly lauded by coach Kirby Smart, who’s among the more straight-shooting coaches in college football.
Walker was a commanding voice and upheld the standard set by the future professionals who came before him. That was a noted aspect of his appeal beyond the explosive play and inside linebacker-edge rusher versatility.
Walker reportedly aced his pre-draft interviews. But he slipped to No. 15 due to a combination of other teams’ needs and preferences, along with some concerns around his smaller size.
There were no questions about the intangibles. And the Falcons, who haven’t made the playoffs since 2017 and have fielded consistently underwhelming defenses, sure could use his presence.
They expect him to be a pillar on this defense for a long time.
“Jalon Walker is a sharp man,” Morris said. “He has a dad who’s been coaching him for – however old he is. You can tell. It’s all over his body, all over his core. When his parents and brother walk into the building, you can see the serious demeanor. He was well-coached before he even went to college.
“When he got to college, he had some of the best coaching in the world from Kirby and all of those guys. I talked with him about some of the leadership and growth they brought to that program, with that class they came out with, they should be very proud about how they did it and how they went about their business. You had some very unique Falcon-fit type people in that class.”
Mike Pitts holds the franchise rookie record with seven sacks. That’s a lot to ask from a rookie, but Walker should nonetheless be an immediate upgrade over the Falcons’ recent edge rushers.
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