Tennessee Titans Delanie Walker to shine in the 2019 season.
By Sunny Hon
Why Tennessee Titans Pro Bowl TE Delanie Walker is an important but overlooked piece of the offense.
Even though Delanie Walker missed the 2018 season with an injury, it is still a little bit shocking how much the Tennessee Titans Pro Bowl TE is being slept on.
Move tight ends are all the rage in the today’s NFL, as college and high school offenses continue their trend of spreading the field. As long as they keep being the kryptonite for opposing DCs, the NFL will continue to inherit large-bodied pass catchers that are match-up nightmares for linebackers, shot corners, and safeties.
While in-line blocking isn’t the forte for most move tight ends, their value to offenses are undeniable. Lucky for Mike Vrabel and company, the Tennessee Titans have one of the best move tight ends in the league in Delanie Walker.
Although it isn’t an original concept, new wrinkles are added to the implementation of motioning offensive players.
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Move tight ends are natural counters to downhill linebackers and zone defensive schemes. Their functionalities are similar to that of motioning tailbacks, i.e. Marshall Faulk with the St. Louis Rams.
Motioning a player prior to the snap of the ball allows the quarterback to decipher coverage schemes. In a chess match of west coast offense versus zone defensive schemes, a tight end’s ability to contribute to the passing attack can heavily impact an offense’s ability to march down field.
Whether lining up in the slot to run routes or setting up next to the tackle to sell blocks, tight ends can release into soft areas in the defensive zones to help move the chains.
Delanie Walker’s ability to move on the field is uncanny. At 6’1”, 248 lb, the former Central Missouri receiver has a knack for making big plays in soft areas of defenses.
A number of those plays come from post routes into the soft zones behind the linebackers and in front of safeties dropping into cover-2 shells. Drag routes underneath the linebacker coverages also help to get Walker open to take advantage of the often slower linebackers and smaller defensive backs.
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Such combination of size and speed gives quarterback Marcus Mariota a security blanket to get rid of the football underneath when the pocket collapses. Outside of the injury-plagued 2018 season, Walker has been targeted over 100 times in each of the previous three seasons.
According to the statistics gathered by PlayerProfiler.com, Walker was on the field for 77.2% of the offensive snaps in 2017 and received 22.9% of the team target shares. Mariota targeted Walker 50% of end zone targets and 26.1% of red zone targets.
In general, Walker was very much a trusted receiver for Mariota in 2017. A healthy Delanie Walker in the 2019 season should maintain such connection with Mariota despite the arrival of new pass catching options.
One team’s lost was another team’s gain. When San Francisco 49ers decided to let Delanie Walker go via free agency after the 2012 season, the Tennessee Titans were quick to sign their tight end of the future. In return, Delanie Walker repaid the Titans’ confidence with three Pro Bowl selections.
A healthy Delanie Walker this season could most definitely help Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans improve on their 9-7 2018 campaign.