Four Missouri Tigers went to the NFL Combine, but edge rusher Johnny Walker Jr. wasn’t one of them.
“I was kind of disappointed at first,” Walker said. “But, nothing I can really do about it. Just looking forward to pro day, that’s all that really mattered.”
And Walker performed in his opportunity to compete in front of scouts from every NFL team.
He bench pressed 225 pounds 21 times (which would have been tied for 12th out of 16 edge rushers at the combine plus Walker), he jumped 32 inches in the vertical jump (would have been 17th out of 23 edge rushers), had a 10-foot broad jump (would have been tied for 10th out of 21 edge rushers) and posted a 4.79 40-yard dash (would have been 17th out of 19 edge rushers).
“I feel like I could have been better,” Walker said. “I was kind of hard on myself a little, I think my numbers could have been a little better. But I’m satisfied.”
And now Walker will wait for the NFL Draft, where he is projected as a possible Day 3 pick (rounds 5-through-7) or an undrafted free agent.
Walker said he’ll continue to work specifically on his flexibility and other small things as he prepares for the draft.
“I think training went good,” Walker said of preparing for pro day since the Music City Bowl. “I got my body right, got my body fat really low, got my weight up. So I’m happy about that.”
And one of the key times in those past few months since Walker ended his Mizzou career was a trip to the Shrine Bowl where he practiced throughout the week with Tiger teammates Brady Cook and Theo Wease, though Wease was unable to compete because of a hand injury that knocked him out of the Tigers’ win against Iowa in Nashville.
But during the game, he wasn’t competing alongside Cook, in fact, he showed the Tiger quarterback what others have had to fear coming from the edge of the Tiger line when he strip sacked Cook in the late second quarter.
Walker added another sack of Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer in the fourth quarter as he put up arguably the best individual defensive performance by any player at the Shrine Bowl.
“I met some great guys,” Walker said. “A lot of friends that hopefully I’ll end up playing with. I had a great Shrine Bowl. I feel like that helped boost my stock dramatically.”
Walker said between meetings at the Shrine Bowl, in the past couple of months and at pro day, he has spoken with more than half of the teams in the NFL about his future.
Part of what those teams will look at is the pure numbers Walker produced as a member of the Tigers, totaling 103 tackles (with 87 coming the past two seasons), 26 tackles for loss (22 in the past two seasons) and 18.5 sacks (with 14.5 the past twi seasons, including 9.5 in 2024), to go with six forced fumbles (all in the past two seasons) and one fumble recovery.
Walker said getting to return to Mizzou to compete one more time with the teammates who were by his side while he grew into the role that helped him produce those numbers at pro day was a special experience.
“Mizzou is home,” Walker said. “When I came back, I felt like I was home again. Just with their support, their coaching, I felt, like, more confident than I did during training.”
“These are my brothers man,” Walker added. “They give me confidence, I give them confidence. That’s how we rock.”
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