Jason Burgos
A top NFL insider recently made a case for the New England Patriots to go in an unexpected direction with the fourth overall pick in Round 1 of tonight’s NFL Draft.
“If you want to talk about football makeup, Jalon Walker is off the charts,” NBC Sports Boston NFL insider Albert Breer said this week. “Georgia is really good in this area this year. The Georgia players — Malaki Starks and Mykel Williams are both really good, too. He’s the son of a coach, and you get him in a room and he’s like a defensive coordinator. It looks like he’s going to be ready to play right away.
“Some of the stuff you hear about from the meetings is just — this guy’s gonna be a captain in two or three years somewhere. I think that fits what they’re looking for,” he added.
For weeks, New England has been linked to talented LSU tackle Will Campbell. He is viewed as the best offensive lineman in this year’s class and fills a need. There have also been recent rumors linking them to Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter. And Penn State star Abdul Carter.
Walker is not a player who has been connected with the franchise much over the last few weeks. However, Breer explained why he is a strong fit for the style of play new head coach Mike Vrabel is trying to implement on defense in year one with the Pats.
“If you look at Tennessee and what Mike Vrabel was looking for, I think the one overriding thing about the players in the front seven is he wanted disruptors,” said Breer. “Jeffery Simmons was that. Harold Landry was that kind of player. Even guys in the secondary like Kevin Byard.
“The idea was to have guys who are disruptive. And if you look at Walker, you can be creative with him and move him around. You have to have a plan for him, you’re probably not just gonna sit him on the edge.”
A couple of weeks ago, Boston Sports Journal NFL insider Mike Girardi reported that Jalon Walker has gained a lot of fans at the Patriots’ facility during the NFL Draft evaluation process.
More New England Patriots news and rumors:
- Radio station floats rumor Eagles would trade AJ Brown to Patriots for No. 4 pick
- New rumors suggests top player in NFL Draft could suprisingly fall to New England Patriots at No. 4
- Patriots rumor claims specific SEC star will be top pick due to having ‘a lot of fans’ in facility
