Atlanta Falcons Edge Jalon Walker in on Fast Track to Stardom

When picking Georgia edge rusher Jalon Walker 15th overall in the NFL Draft, the expectation was that he was polished and mature enough to become a day-one starter for the Atlanta Falcons.

When you consider OTAs are glorified walk-throughs, it might be time to pump the brakes on the enthusiasm, but those who have worked with him can’t help but rave about Walker’s makeup and football IQ.

"Jalon Walker has been absolutely awesome," Morris enthused on Monday. "It's hard to say to compete with the veterans right now just because of the phase we're at. It's not really highly competitive, it's more like learning what to do. There's no real physicality involved in it. But to watch his urgency and how he practices, his attention to detail. He knows how to practice at a very high level. He wants to get better and better every single day, and he seems like he does."

Learning where to be and when is half the battle for rookies during their first summer in the NFL, but Walker has already progressed well beyond the getting-to-know-you phase. 

"He's an instant coach," Morris said. "He's the grits, man. You just tell him something, and he does it the first time, every single time. He goes out and is able to get that stuff done. So that stuff has been absolutely amazing and awesome with him. I look forward, really, with all those guys, but particularly him. He's very easy to coach.

"There are a million examples of guys who come in and flourish right from the beginning, right? We can talk about that, but definitely there is either a drop-off or there is just a huge growth process, it is about establishing that rhythm and routine that you can put together for yourself when you become that adult."

Walker has already displayed the kind of outgoing personality traits that could see him step into a key leadership role from the get-go. Morris explained how Walker has conducted himself ever since he got into the facility; he's already clearly separating himself from his first-year compatriots. 

"I think they're all different," Morris said of how the rookies stack up. "Some of them, Jalon Walker, for example, since we brought him up, you can see it when he walks in the building and he's sitting talking with Terry Fontenot and his son for hours with no blink, no hesitation or whatever."

Anointing Walker as a team leader too early might be too much on his plate. But filling the gaping hole at edge rusher with a player who’s mature and talented enough to fill it right away is exactly what the Falcons were hoping for when they drafted Walker in the first round.