Round 7 Pick 249; Rasheed Walker, OT Penn State

[HighCalebR]

10 minutes ago, Old Guy said:

Has he had knee injuries in the past which is why you don't think he can improve? Just curious. 

He had some in college. I think both knees or one knee two injuries. I don't think they were major but it's not better than nothing.

He's got wonky legs in his stance to get crouched down. And he's still bending forward at the snap. It's just something that gets taught from at least high school up and he's been playing the spot the whole time. There's no reason for it to still be a problem other than it just is what it is. Pad level is king on the line for a reason.

Maybe he does some ayahuasca and unlocks part of his brain and it fixes it or gets super into yoga. 

Edited January 23 by HighCalebR

[Rainmaker90]

41 minutes ago, vegas492 said:

Help can mean a lot of things.  I didn't know that I had to spell it out.  

He got a ton of help from MLF and Love in how they called the game and in how quickly the ball came out.  It isn't just about doubles or chips.

151.  That's a number I hope you remember.  151.  Any idea as to what that means?

It's the number of snaps that Yosh Nijman played on the offensive line since week 10.  You know he was taking reps from Walker, right?  Granted a few of those came against the 49ers when Tom went down.

But, I'll let that resonate for a moment.  Walker wasn't even a full time starter.  He was job sharing, just like JRJ was job sharing.

So you gotta ask yourself.  Why did the coaches job share that position?  With JRJ it can be a logical thought process about wanting to get the young kid reps as the older vets contract was running out.  But Nijman is a free agent at the end of the season. 

For crying out loud, we've got guys on here discussing how much Walker is worth on a next contract or via a trade.  And the fact is, he was job sharing the LT position during our run.

I think it’s ridiculous to using Love getting the ball out quick as a knock on him. 
 

To which their own though. I’m not anointing him the next great LT nor do I know if he has a future in GB 

Edited January 23 by Rainmaker90

[HighCalebR]

3 minutes ago, Rainmaker90 said:

I think it’s ridiculous to using Love getting the ball out quick as a knock on him. 
 

To which their own though. I’m not anointing him the next great LT nor do I know if he has a future in GB 

It's not a knock directly on him but it sure ******* helps stats right? If all were judging the guy on is stats and the opps have no shot at accumulating stats. Doesn't that skew your perception??

This is directly attributing to the belief that he would need a major contract, when stats are not how a person should go into that negotiation.

Edited January 23 by HighCalebR

[vegas492]

Just now, Rainmaker90 said:

I think it’s ridiculous to using Love getting the ball out quick as a knock on him. 

I think it's ridiculous that you think I'm knocking Walker when I was once the ONLY ONE HERE defending him.

I think the whole offense looked a whole lot  better once Love and MLF got into a rhythm.  This isn't just a Walker thing.

The guy is fine.  He's not great, yet.  He's not elite, yet.  He's fine.  Maybe even better than fine.  And a great 7'th round pick.

If he was so elite, we wouldn't have job shared him down the stretch with a guy who is going to be a free agent.

And it's okay.  It takes nothing away from Walker having a few nice games down the stretch to put under his belt as we enter the off-season.

151.

[HighCalebR]

^and I agree with @vegas492 on that.

Great 7th round pick. A definitive hit. Appreciate he's on the squad.

I just don't think there's many more steps for him to take.

Still a useful player, but Owens is also a useful player, if you use him correctly.

[Rainmaker90]

6 minutes ago, vegas492 said:

I think it's ridiculous that you think I'm knocking Walker when I was once the ONLY ONE HERE defending him.

I think the whole offense looked a whole lot  better once Love and MLF got into a rhythm.  This isn't just a Walker thing.

The guy is fine.  He's not great, yet.  He's not elite, yet.  He's fine.  Maybe even better than fine.  And a great 7'th round pick.

If he was so elite, we wouldn't have job shared him down the stretch with a guy who is going to be a free agent.

And it's okay.  It takes nothing away from Walker having a few nice games down the stretch to put under his belt as we enter the off-season.

151.

I really don’t get why you’re being so upset  over it. I just disagree with your reasoning. I didn’t say you’re an idiot for not being higher on him or anything of that sort. 
 

If you don’t think he has a chance to be top 10, that’s fine. 

[Old Guy]

2 hours ago, vegas492 said:

Help can mean a lot of things.  I didn't know that I had to spell it out.  

He got a ton of help from MLF and Love in how they called the game and in how quickly the ball came out.  It isn't just about doubles or chips.

151.  That's a number I hope you remember.  151.  Any idea as to what that means?

It's the number of snaps that Yosh Nijman played on the offensive line since week 10.  You know he was taking reps from Walker, right?  Granted a few of those came against the 49ers when Tom went down.

But, I'll let that resonate for a moment.  Walker wasn't even a full time starter.  He was job sharing, just like JRJ was job sharing.

So you gotta ask yourself.  Why did the coaches job share that position?  With JRJ it can be a logical thought process about wanting to get the young kid reps as the older vets contract was running out.  But Nijman is a free agent at the end of the season. 

For crying out loud, we've got guys on here discussing how much Walker is worth on a next contract or via a trade.  And the fact is, he was job sharing the LT position during our run.

Liars figure and figures lie. Walker played 100% of the snaps in 8 games this year, including the final three, five counting playoffs. So, at the end of the season, he was no longer sharing anything. That is patently false. Nijman played 8 snaps at the end of the Minnesota game with Tom came out because it was a blowout. He played 12 snaps against Chicago, but those were not for Walker, perhaps 6 O-linemen or for Tom when it was over. He played ZERO snaps against Carolina. 

@Rainmaker90 a little context to this "time share,' Vegas was talking about. 

Walker played 77% of the snaps on offense, Bak had 5. 

 

Rasheed Walker 2023 Fantasy Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Edited January 24 by Old Guy

[persiandud]

14 hours ago, Rainmaker90 said:

I think people have real unrealistic expectations. If we didn’t have a HOF LT coming back , Walker would have been slotted at LT without a 2nd thought. 
 

He was incredible the 2nd half of the year. Theres a lot of NFL teams who would love to have Rasheed Walker right now. 
 

People are doing it with Love too with the over analyzing of the final int. 

he was good. he did very well, well above expectations. but i don't see him being our starting LT long term

there is a lot of value in having a swing tackle who can play either side in case of injury. imagine if we had Bahktiari in this SF game, and Tom gets injured with Walker replacing him instead of Yosh. we win that game 

[vegas492]

16 hours ago, Rainmaker90 said:

I really don’t get why you’re being so upset  over it. I just disagree with your reasoning. I didn’t say you’re an idiot for not being higher on him or anything of that sort. 
 

If you don’t think he has a chance to be top 10, that’s fine. 

I don't get your logic.

He's not even our best tackle.  

At best he's what 5'th in our division?  6'th is more likely as I'll bet Wright is better already and has a higher ceiling.  7'th if you feel that Bakh can return.  8th if you really like O'neil (and I do).

And that is just in our division.  Yet you are talking about a top 10 tackle?

When you say that top 10 stuff, you want to get specific and say top 10 left tackle?  At least that eliminates Sewell, O'neil and Wright from our division.

Walker is obviously a young player that we can win with.  There's obviously some upside there.  But he's not a unicorn in that regard.  Not yet.  

 

[vegas492]

15 hours ago, Old Guy said:

Liars figure and figures lie. Walker played 100% of the snaps in 8 games this year, including the final three, five counting playoffs. So, at the end of the season, he was no longer sharing anything. That is patently false. Nijman played 8 snaps at the end of the Minnesota game with Tom came out because it was a blowout. He played 12 snaps against Chicago, but those were not for Walker, perhaps 6 O-linemen or for Tom when it was over. He played ZERO snaps against Carolina. 

@Rainmaker90 a little context to this "time share,' Vegas was talking about. 

Walker played 77% of the snaps on offense, Bak had 5. 

 

Rasheed Walker 2023 Fantasy Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com

It's tough to see who plays where.  I went off of PFF snaps for both guys.  Apologies.  t

If we are moving the goalpost to the last 5 games where Walker took the most snaps.....

Walker was our 6th ranked OL against Carolina.  PFF grade of 40.6.

Walker was our 3rd ranked OL against the Vikes.  PFF grade of 59.

Walker was our 2nd ranked OL against the Bears.  PFF grade of 75.8.

Walker was our 4th ranked OL against the Cowboys.  PFF grade of 60.1.

Walker was our 3rd ranked OL against the 49ers.  63.7.

I didn't know what I would find when I did that.  And since this topic has come up because PFF has posted headlines that caught everyone's eyes, those are their scores over that time period.

I came away feeling this way.  If we are concerned about our ability to sign a tackle, or what we would get via a trade of a tackle, Walker isn't the guy to worry about.  Tom absolutely is.

[Old Guy]

2 minutes ago, vegas492 said:

It's tough to see who plays where.  I went off of PFF snaps for both guys.  Apologies.  t

If we are moving the goalpost to the last 5 games where Walker took the most snaps.....

Walker was our 6th ranked OL against Carolina.  PFF grade of 40.6.

Walker was our 3rd ranked OL against the Vikes.  PFF grade of 59.

Walker was our 2nd ranked OL against the Bears.  PFF grade of 75.8.

Walker was our 4th ranked OL against the Cowboys.  PFF grade of 60.1.

Walker was our 3rd ranked OL against the 49ers.  63.7.

I didn't know what I would find when I did that.  And since this topic has come up because PFF has posted headlines that caught everyone's eyes, those are their scores over that time period.

I came away feeling this way.  If we are concerned about our ability to sign a tackle, or what we would get via a trade of a tackle, Walker isn't the guy to worry about.  Tom absolutely is.

I think Tom is going to need a big contract after next year. I don't see his agent letting him take the field year 4 without a deal. 

[ReasonablySober]

There's no reason to worry about either tackle. Barring injury, they're both going to get new deals here. You don't let good OT out the door unless you have a stud waiting in the wings. 

[vegas492]

Just now, Old Guy said:

I think Tom is going to need a big contract after next year. I don't see his agent letting him take the field year 4 without a deal. 

I'm not sure.  As in 50/50 to me.

Jenkins started right away and played at a high level right away.  He didn't get his new deal until what, the last year of his rookie deal?  I think the injury may have held that up a little for him.

If Tom remains healthy, who knows.  Also?  Zero issue extending him in year 4.  He's a cornerstone on that line.  No doubt about it.

[Old Guy]

1 minute ago, vegas492 said:

I'm not sure.  As in 50/50 to me.

Jenkins started right away and played at a high level right away.  He didn't get his new deal until what, the last year of his rookie deal?  I think the injury may have held that up a little for him.

If Tom remains healthy, who knows.  Also?  Zero issue extending him in year 4.  He's a cornerstone on that line.  No doubt about it.

Tom did play at a high level as soon as he got in.

After next year, which is what I stated, Tom will be in the last year of his rookie deal. So, I think we agree. 

[vegas492]

3 hours ago, Old Guy said:

Tom did play at a high level as soon as he got in.

After next year, which is what I stated, Tom will be in the last year of his rookie deal. So, I think we agree. 

I missed the "after next year" part.  Tom stays healthy through next year, I'd like it if he gets an extension done prior to the end of that 4'th year.  Course, much will happen between then and now.

And hopefully that includes adding a few new kids to that OL mix.  Seems like we can really coach up offensive linemen, so let's get them a few more, preferable with a higher pick or two.