Buccaneers Who Need To Step Up After The David Walker Injury

On Monday morning, it was reported that Tampa Bay Buccaneers edge rusher David Walker has torn his ACL. This comes after going down at the end of practice over the weekend. We did not know the severity of the injury in the days that followed, but we now know his rookie season is over.

Walker was a fourth round pick out of Central Arkansas. Many draft evaluators called him the steal of the draft. Even the Bucs general manager, Jason Licht, referred to him as a Super Bowl piece. 

The early returns on Walker had also been glowing. His ability to get into the backfield has been mentioned time and time again during mini camps, OTA’s and now training camp. Needless to say, this is a big blow to the depth in the Buccaneers outside linebacker room.

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However, this is not a monumental loss for the Bucs overall. It is important to have depth, but a third string edge rusher can be replaced no matter how good he may be. This injury will put pressure on the rest of that room to step up and fill that void.

We know what the Bucs have in starters Yaya Diaby and Haason Reddick. Their combination of power and agility project them to be a lethal pass rushing duo. Although this will be their first season playing together, expectations are high for this pair.

Beyond that there will be more questions to be answered with the loss of Walker. Some players will have to take a step forward. Here are the Buccaneers who need to step up after the David Walker injury.

First and foremost, someone needs to fill the position of the Bucs fifth edge rusher. With the top four spots accounted for there is now an opening behind them as a rotational player. This will very likely be one of Markees Watts or Jose Ramirez.

Both of these players are going into their third season with the team. Watts was an undrafted free agent out of the University of Charlotte, where Ramirez was a sixth round pick out of Eastern Michigan University. Neither were a major investment by the team nor do they have a glamorous pedigree to play in the NFL.

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However, all that matters is what they do on the field. The coaches have spoken highly of both in the past, although it may be more telling that they drafted Walker to replace them. Regardless, there is something to work with here.

Watts is a very undersized edge rusher. At just 6’0 and 240 pounds Watts is built more like a traditional middle linebacker. However, his speed and agility make him a classic situational pass rushing type of player.

Ramirez is a little bigger at 6’2 and 255 pounds. He’s more likely to be a feisty run defender and still has the agility to bend around the edge. It’s a more well-rounded skill set, although perhaps not as dynamic of a pass rusher.

Consider this an open competition between the two as well as any other challenger that may emerge. If I had to make a guess right now, I would put my money on Watts to win this job. With rushing the passer with four being an off-season priority, I believe Watts’ skillset suits the Bucs needs more right now.

Despite a roster spot being on the line for these players, I don’t believe any of them are under the most pressure with this injury. In terms of who needs to step up, I think that answer is crystal clear. This being second year edge rusher Chris Braswell.

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Braswell was a second round pick last year out of the University of Alabama. His college production wasn’t outstanding, but he also played a rotational role behind star pass rushers Will Anderson and Dallas Turner. Despite being the “other guy” in Alabama‘s edge rushing pair, Braswell managed to stand out.

At 6’3 and 251 pounds Braswell ran a 4.6 40 yard dash. That was in the 96 percentile for all edge rushers who participated in the combine dating back to 1987. That is rarified air of athletes to play in the NFL.

Braswell uses this explosive speed and turns it into power. Think of him like a high-powered battering ram. He explodes off the line of scrimmage into his opponent’s chest and tries to run through them with relatively high success at the college level.

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Unfortunately, this didn’t translate to the NFL as a rookie. This is often the case with power profile players and Braswell struggled in his first year. This is to be expected in a league that is bigger, faster and stronger than what he is used to. No one can simply out athlete the competition at this level.

This year Braswell knows what to expect. He knows the caliber of athlete he’ll be playing against and he is learning what will work and what won’t work in the NFL. We saw flashes of that down the stretch last year.

There were times that Braswell looked like an NFL caliber pass rusher. We saw him get into the backfield and force of pressure in the playoffs against rookie sensation Jayden Daniels. This year it will be about finding consistency with these flashes.

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The Buccaneers don’t have an elite pass rusher. Instead they are built to have wave after wave of players causing havoc. This injury undoubtedly hurts their plan on the edge.

Now it is up to the other young players to step up and step in. Whether it be Watts, Ramirez or Braswell, someone has to replace the pass rush the team was expecting from Walker. It’s a brutal loss for the Bucs, but also an opportunity to shine for these three players.