Tennessee Titans sign veteran lineman DeMarcus Walker
By Will Lomas
In 18 months, the Tennessee Titans have transformed from one of the worst defenses in the NFL to one of the best and deepest.
Remember, this is a group that has Harold Landry, Jeffery Simmons, Bud Dupree, and Denico Autry under contract for the next two years. Those four alone combined for 32 sacks and 54 quarterback hits in 2021.
Beyond that, players like Ola Adeniyi, Rashad Weaver, NaQuan Jones, and Teair Tart offer great value as role players and situational starters.
That list is a little longer now after the Titans signed DeMarcus Walker today.
What can Walker do for the Tennessee Titans?
At 6’4 280 pounds, Walker fits a mold of what the Titans look for on the defensive line. Denico Autry and Rashad Weaver are also bigger body linemen who would be classically described as defensive ends, but both players can play in the B-gap and C-gap depending on the situation.
Walker isn’t going to jump off the screen with what he can do on the edges, but he is big enough to fit as a run defender and he gives plenty of effort. On the inside, he has the power and flashes the quickness to beat interior linemen when given the chance.
Having said all of this, there is a decent chance that he doesn’t make the roster even though he was visiting with other teams in the AFC South. We are at the point in the offseason where rosters are being built for training camp which means that you want as many quality bodies as you can get.
For the Tennessee Titans, they have plenty of bodies to compete for spots on the defensive line. However, don’t count out Walker because he was a second-round pick for a reason.
I think that he is actually a perfect fit for what the Titans want to do with their pass rush games on the line. What I mean is that he has the potential to slant on a defensive line with so many talented defenders and take advantage of offensive linemen that are so worried about Simmons or Landry, that they aren’t quick enough to adjust to Walker.
In college, the majority of his incredible production (26.5 sacks in his final two seasons) came when he won instantly off the snap of the ball. Putting him in a situation where he is the “other” guy on the defensive line, should be big for him.