Chicago Bears 20 Most Important Players: #7 DeMarcus Walker

Our series profiling the 20 most important Chicago Bears players in 2023 continues. We are at #7, defensive end DeMarcus Walker.

We continue our series profiling the 20 most important Chicago Bears players in 2023. You can see the previous profiles here. Up next is #7, defensive end DeMarcus Walker.

At the start of free agency, general manager Ryan Poles made overhauling the defensive line. The Bears struggled to get to the quarterback and stop the run. He wanted to change that. He added a plethora of defensive linemen to bolster the unit.

One of the signings Poles made was defensive end DeMarcus Walker. Walker signed a three-year, $21 million deal after he had a career season in 2022.

Last season, Walker posted career-high numbers in sacks (7), tackles (32), tackles for loss (10), and quarterback hits (16), The Bears hope the 2022 season was a building block for him. They hope last season was a matter of him finally putting his tools together. Now, they hope he builds on that and continues to ascend.

The Chicago Bears ranked last in sacks and quarterback knockdowns. Because of that, many people felt that the defensive end position would be a priority. The only signings he made at that position, however, were Walker and Rasheem Green. Green is expected to be a backup.

Many experts felt that the signings were not enough. If that was the case, they thought Poles would turn to the draft. He had 10 picks so one of them had to be a defensive end, right?

Wrong. Poles instead invested a lot of his picks inside. His thinking was that if the tackles do their job then the end should have an easier path to the opponents’ backfield.

Now the Bears have a rotation of Walker, Trevis Gipson, Green, and Dominique Robinson. The Bears hope the tackles and ends work together to put a lot of pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

In addition to becoming the starter, the Bears hope Walker becomes a leader on the defense. He is a vocal player and lets his teammates know when they are good and when they are bad. You’ll know exactly where you stand with him.

Walker did not come in trying to take over and step on other leaders’ toes. He wanted to make sure his vocal expression was accepted by the other veterans. Another veteran on the defense, safety Eddie Jackson, welcomed a new voice and the high energy Walker brought with him.

D-Walk is high energy. He’s going to call you out. Just to have a guy like that, first year, don’t care about the faces, come in and he loves football. He’s ready to call guys out, hold guys accountable.

Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus love Walker’s work ethic. He comes in to work and he plays hard to the whistle on every play. That kind of energy is contagious. When other players, especially the young ones, see how hard he works even after signing a big deal, they will follow suit.

Walker embodies Eberflus’ H.I.T.S. principle. His blue-collar play will also play well with fans. They will see him excited and trying to pump up his teammates and the fans will respond to that.

Some still feel that Poles needs to sign another edge rusher. There are still some good options available as training camp comes closer to starting. Remember, Poles made a couple of signings last year right before the start of training camp. Perhaps he has a similar move this year.

Of course, as we saw with all his other moves (and non-moves), Poles has a vision for this team. He is sticking to the plan he had at the start of the offseason. He could decide that he has enough for this season. His plan could be to find one in next year’s draft.

Poles could decide to bet on Walker playing well. If Waler rewards him with good play in 2023, Poles could win that bet and the defense is the beneficiary.