The 2024 NFL Draft is right around the corner, and the Kansas City Chiefs are seeking yet another quality haul from general manager Brett Veach.
In recent seasons, Veach and his staff have used the draft to bring in cost-controlled young talents to insulate a championship roster. The results speak for themselves, although windows can close quickly. Kansas City hopes that a good 2024 rookie class joining one of football's younger teams can keep the franchise in top competitive form.
With the draft on the horizon, Arrowhead Report is taking a look at prospects who could hear their names called in late April. Up next is North Carolina wide receiver Devontez "Tez" Walker.
Background
- Height: 6014
- Weight: 193
- Age at draft: 22
- Relative Athletic Score: 9.91
- 2023: 41 receptions, 699 yards and 7 touchdowns
- Played two seasons at Kent State, one at UNC
Where Walker creates advantages
Walker has a good blend of length, speed and explosiveness, which was backed up by a very impressive showing at the NFL Scouting Combine. He projects as a quality vertical threat at the next level due to his usage in that realm in college and his catch radius. Walker has no issue stacking defensive backs with his quickness and getting separation down the field. There's major potential for some splash plays as a rookie while the rest of his profile develops.
Deeper down the field, Walker shows promise when tracking the football and looking to pluck the ball out of the air. His body control is a quality trait. The UNC product has upside as a yards-after-catch threat on concepts like in-breakers, crossers, mesh and the like. If given the ball with room to run, Walker can put on the jetpack and be a menace.
Where Walker could be at a disadvantage
While Walker does have plus length for the position, his frame is wiry. His lack of play strength is obvious in multiple facets of his game. He doesn't fight for the ball well enough, struggling with hand-fighting and contact. Walker sometimes fails to get both hands up for the football after competing during the rep. His impressive verticality doesn't make up for it. Although he's able to work out of the slot, he'll need to prove capable of handling aggressive cover corners if he's a true "X" wideout in the NFL.
Walker is a relatively raw prospect at this stage of his development. He's predominantly a field stretcher who runs a limited route tree elsewhere. His release package is nothing to write home about, and he doesn't sink and set quickly enough during his routes. Walker posted a sizable drop rate at UNC and his hands are a question mark from a consistency standpoint. He'll be 23 by the time his rookie training camp starts.
The verdict
The 2024 NFL Draft wide receiver class is hands-down one of the better ones in recent years. With as many as 20 legitimately intriguing options scattered throughout the first handful of rounds, clubs will have plenty to choose from in the first couple of days. Differing athletic profiles, experience levels and skill sets all make up an eclectic overall group.
Walker finds himself in the mid-to-late Day Two category, in this writer's estimation. His athleticism is evident on tape and he did nothing but help himself in the pre-draft process on that front, so some scouting department will bite. With that said, he still has a ways to go before being a well-rounded wideout on the boundary. Investing in him is investing in there being more than just a true vertical threat over time.
Do the Chiefs make sense as a fit for Walker? Considering he'd profile as a (skinny) X receiver, he would admittedly fill a void for them. Fielding a three-wideout set with him, Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown would undoubtedly strike fear into opposing defenses. On the other hand, Walker hasn't shown to be adept at cleanly executing many of the concepts Andy Reid values so dearly. Kansas City going after Walker at pick No. 64 or somewhere in the third round is perfectly fine, so long as there's a plan for his progression within the offense.
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