INDIANAPOLIS – With a penchant for playing both outside and inside linebacker for Georgia, Jalon Walker was asked what position he would prefer to play in the NFL.
His answer probably will not surprise you.
“I’m a ball player. Just being on the field is my favorite position,” he said. “Just being everywhere, where you just don’t know. The anticipation of being the outside backer one snap, the inside backer one snap, being the star one snap – it gives me comfort knowing they (the offense) doesn’t know where I’m going to be.”
NFL teams are taking notice. Walker is one of the hot names taking part in this week’s NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Many – like Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network – predict he will go somewhere in the top 10 picks.
If he does, Walker - who will not work out for teams in Indianapolis - feels it will be his versatility that makes it possible.
“I feel like I'm better at being that chess piece,” he said. “I mean, that increases my value. It increases the team value as well, just because you never know where I'll be at in the game plan for that week.”
That appears to be the plan.
“A lot of teams want me to still be in that position of playing multiple positions for their club,” Walker said. “I'm excited for it.”
Walker gives former teammate Nolan Smith credit for much of his success. The two were teammates on Georgia’s 2022 national championship squad, and Walker said the mentoring he received has played a big role.
“Him being the leader of that team for the Georgia defense in 2022 meant everything for me. So, his guidance and his mentoring throughout the years was great for me, and I really appreciate him very much,” Walker said. “He’s a relentless player, and I feel like we're wired from the same place.”
Walker said he would be in Green Bay, the site of the NFL Draft.
“I feel like that opportunity for me and my family is very big, especially because many players don't get that opportunity to do so,” Walker said. “Sitting there, going to Green Bay, having the opportunity to walk out there and greet the commissioner is like no other.”
Among Walker’s meetings thus far in Indianapolis has been one with the Las Vegas Raiders, where former teammate Brock Bowers made quite a name for himself last fall, setting a league record for catches by a rookie tight end.
“Me and Brock, crazy enough, had class together,” Walker said. “We would drive back. I would drive me and him or drive back to the facility together. He's a great guy, a great individual, just not on the football field, but as a person. I feel like his success at the Raiders is no surprise because I know the way he worked at Georgia. I just know the way he's wired. He's different."
Walker sees himself as a bit of a unicorn, too.
“You’re not going to find a lot of guys that will be at four positions in one series,” he said. “I feel that that makes me the different chess piece that no one else can compare to.”
