The Chicago Bears capped off the final day of free agency with DeMarcus Walker, who was most recently with the Tennessee Titans. We all knew the team had to go defensive line, and after a few big names went off of the board, they inked Walker to a 3-year, $21M deal.
Walker was not at the top of fans' big board, and some are not sure who he is. So, what does DeMarcus Walker bring to the table?
5. Chicago Bears signed DeMarcus Walker coming off of his best NFL season
The Bears are interested in signing free agents who have their best play ahead of them, even if that means they have not proven everything yet. With that in mind, the signing of Walker makes a ton of sense.
Walker is not the typical Chicago Bears signing in that he is not coming right off of his rookie contract, though. Walker was a second-round pick by the Denver Broncos. He spent all four seasons there, but things were up and down.
He had no buzz in free agency and went to the Houston Texans. The Titans played against him twice, and liked what they saw. They signed him, and he had his best NFL season.
In four NFL seasons with the Broncos, he had 40 pressures. In the past two years, he produced 62 pressures. He had 33 run stops in four seasons, then 37 in the past two. Needless to say, the first four years of his career appeared to be an issue with fit.
Once he got into a spot where he could flash his talents, we started to see the progression. So, he is in his seventh season, but the last two have you thinking that he still could ascend for another year or two.
4. DeMarcus Walker has a questionable athletic profile
DeMarcus Walker comes into the Chicago Bears at year, and at 28 years old. That is a bit older than recent signings who are closer to 25, or 26, but the team is looking for untapped potential. However, athletic ability is not where they are going to find it.
It is always fun to look back at how NFL players fared at the Combine. It is getting a lot of attention right now because it is in the rearview mirror, but the event does impact these players and can speak to their game. For Walker, he is big and powerful, but not athletic. His combine says that, as does his tape.
He has size on his side. If anything, he is almost a tweener between the defensive line and three-technique. We will get to that soon. Still, you see pretty clearly that he does not win with his athletic upside. Amongst NFL athletes, Walker is only in the 30th percentile of athletes at his position.
The three-cone and 20-yard shuttle show that he is more upright as a pass rusher. He cannot bend the corner and duck below tackles. He is too heavy on his feet. Still, he is heavy with his hands too. He knows how to play high, and set the edge.
So, Chicago Bears fans should really view this as someone who will push a pocket or two and will hold his ground. You should expect some power. However, Walker is not the highlight-inspiring player and is not going to hit the upside of 10 sacks or more in most cases.
3. DeMarcus Walker will move up and down Chicago Bears DL
The Chicago Bears signed a defensive end with DeMarcus Walker, but the Titans really took advantage of playing him everywhere. That had been a theme throughout his career as well. When you note that he plays strong and does not have bend around the edge, it makes sense to move him inside at times, and not rely on him outside.
For his career, Walker has 1,610 snaps. Only 25.7% of those snaps are actually outside the tackle as seven or nine technique rushing the passer. This season he was at 25.1%, so the same usage. He played 25.2% at the 5-technique or right over the tackle. Then, for his career, he played 44% of his snaps as a three-technique, and then 4.6% of his snaps lined up right in the A-gap.
The Titans did play him 44% at the 5-technique, and 29.1% at the 3-technique. So, the Broncos had him at defensive tackle for the majority of his career. The Titans moved him outside more and got more out of it, but beyond that, the ability to move him all around makes him the most valuable.
Walker can set the edge on first and second down, then slide inside on third down to rush the passer. One key factor from this is that it does not limit who else the team signs, whether it be ends or tackles. Walker could fit with anyone.
2. DeMarcus Walker is a part-time player
If you had to pick a role for Walker to fill, it would probably be that of Al-Quadin Muhammad. By the end of the season, Muhammad did not actually start, as he was behind Dominique Robinson and Trevis Gipson. However, he played as much or more than them, because those two stayed on their sides, and Muhammad subbed in for both sides.
Walker could do similar and even play inside as we noted. Still, one huge question with Walker will be how much work can he handle. Since he was not winning over the Broncos coaches, he barely played early into his career. Even in the last two seasons he was a part-time player.
He played 427 snaps last season, and 458 the year before. Those are the most in his career. To put that into perspective Muhammad played 609 snaps last season, Trevis Gipson played 641, and rookie Dominique Robinson had 549 snaps. Walker has never hit that. Walker played over 40 snaps three times last season. Gipson did that eight times last year, and Muhammad hit that mark five times.
Even last season as a rotational edge behind Robert Quinn and Khalil Mack, Gipson had 489 snaps. Amongst Titans edge rushers he was fourth behind Denico Autry, Bud Dupree, and Rashad Weaver in snaps played.
They valued him and liked his role because of his versatility. Still, the Titans clearly saw Walker as a rotational role player at best and not a legitimate starter. Can Walker get full-time work, or will that be too much? Did they pay too much for a part-time player?
1. Chicago Bears upgraded on a per-snap basis
The hope is that DeMarcus Walker can turn into an every-down player for the Chicago Bears. Still, what had to draw their attention to him was that he produced more than any Bears rushers, despite so many fewer snaps.
Walker had 14 run stops, which was better than Gipson at 11, and Muhammad at 10. He also had a run-stop rate at 9.5%, which is much better than Gipson at 3.8%, Robinson at 3.2%, and Muhammad at 3.3%. Lastly, his missed tackle rate was 4.3%. Gipson was over 12%, Robinson was over 10%, and Muhammad was over 7%. They all missed tackles at twice the rate or higher than Walker.
You can show the same for pass rush. Walker has 32 pressures, and Gipson led the team with 30. That is on 63 fewer pass rush attempts. His pass rush productivity was 11.7, and the next closest Bears rusher was Gipson at 7. His win rate was 21.2%, and the next closest was Gipson at 16.5%.
It is not just that he is better, it is not even close to how much better he is than any rusher the Chicago Bears had last season. The snaps are a question, and the role can be versatile, but he is going to play a lot. Right now, he is the best that the team has.