Vance Walker Scouting Report

In his first year as a full-time starter in 2007, Vance Walker tallied 14.0 tackles-for-loss and 8.5 sacks. As a result, the 6-2, 293 pound defensive tackle earned First Team All-ACC and Third Team All-America honors. Walker (one piece of a great defensive line at Georgia Tech) is an intuitive run stopper, but he does so much more than that. His ability to get into the backfield gives opposing quarterbacks nightmares.

Walker might not be the most physically imposing tackle in the draft, but he is consistent. During the 2007 season he had a tackle-for-loss in 11 of 12 regular season games and his consistency has not gone away in 2008. If that trend continues throughout the rest of his collegiate career, Walker will be a safe pick for any NFL team.

There is still a lot that Walker can do to increase his draft stock (like have a good senior season with the Yellow Jackets and have a good scouting combine), but at this point his ceiling is probably in the second or third round. Even if Walker garners more national attention and All-ACC accolades, his stock will not rise too much more until Senior Week and the Combine come around.

11/24 Update: Walker's ankle injury has slowed some of his production and he might miss the team's final regular season game against Georgia. As a result his numbers in 2008 (3.0 sacks, 8.5 tackles-for-loss) come nowhere close to his breakout campaign of a year ago. Even so, the injury is not major and most NFL teams will like Walker's versatility and speed.

2/11 Update: While other defensive tackles like Boston College's Ron Brace, Missouri's Evander Hood and even his former teammate at Georgia Tech, Darryl Richard, continue to move up draft boards, Walker is moving down. He needs to add weight before the combine to show scouts that he can beef up a bit. Even if he is one of the faster tackles at the NFL Combine, he will also be one of the weaker. That would be fine if he was a wide receiver, but speed for defensive tackles pales in comparison to the importance of strength.