Silver And Black Pride
This linebacker/edge rusher should be on the Raiders’ radar
Georgia’s Jalon Walker is one of the most interesting prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft class. After primarily serving as a rotational pass-rusher during his first two years with the Bulldogs, Walker took on a bigger role this past season by taking snaps as an off-ball linebacker.
Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Raiders have an immediate need at linebacker and could use an edge rusher for the long haul since Malcolm Koonce is only on a one-year contract. In other words, the Georiga product should be on the Raiders’ radar.
Hybrid defenders have become more popular in the NFL over the last few years and Walker fits that description to a ‘T’. According to Pro Football Focus, he logged 622 total snaps last season with 311 coming in the box, 61 over the slot and 249 on the line of scrimmage. On top of that, 249 of his snaps came against the run, 195 as a pass-rusher and 178 were in coverage.
The 21-year-old has the potential to impact the game in several ways, as the clips below highlight.
Despite the position switch, Walker was still primarily used as an edge rusher on third downs last season and had a ton of success. Per PFF, he racked up 34 pressures and 6.5 sacks on fewer than 200 opportunities while recording an impressive 17.2 percent pass-rush win rate.
The former Bulldog has good use of hands and an impressive long-arm move (among others) to win around the edge, both of which are seen in the clip above.
Walker fires off the ball and immediately throws the long-arm, landing it perfectly on the right tackle’s chest to create some extension on the rep. Then, he does a great job of using his other hand to get the tackle’s hand off his neck and win around the edge, helping to create a shorter corner. Finally, his chase-down speed comes into play as he closes on the quarterback to get the sack.
As an off-ball linebacker, Walker can contribute as a pass-rusher by being an effective quarterback spy. The clip above is a staple play call for Kirby Smart against athletic QBs where Georgia rushes the three down linemen and has a backer “blitz”, but the backer’s involvement in the pass rush is just to mirror the quarterback.
So, when the two edge rushers win and force Arch Manning out of the pocket, that’s Walker’s time to pounce. And, similar to the previous rep, he has the closing speed to chase Manning down and get a sack, putting Texas well behind the sticks.
This doesn’t get talked about enough with edge defenders, but their ability to make plays when unblocked on the backside of run plays is important. This play is a great example of how Walker can contribute in this area.
Clemson leaves him unblocked on the read option and he keeps his shoulders square to the line of scrimmage so he can make a...
