Chicago Bears NFL Draft Target: David Walker

Kirby Lee - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 9 hours ago

The Chicago Bears have always been an enigma regarding the NFL draft. There are those cases where they seem to hit on their top picks, with Caleb Williams coming to mind, but there are also the Mitch Trubisky picks where the Bears simply whiffed. Over the past five drafts, the Bears have whiffed more often than not on their early-round picks, and that has been a big issue as to why this team has struggled to get some overall consistency going.

However, the one thing they have done better than many teams is find value in the later rounds, with most of that value coming in the round four and five range. Granted, it's hard to build a sustainable winner when that is where you find value, but it does help with the depth portion of your roster, and that is something the Bears are still trying to iron out.

Adding David Walker to this team as a day-three option would not only help the depth on the defensive line, but it would also give the Bears some much-needed pass-rushing help should he be given the opportunity to play. The 6-2, 260-pound Walker is the prototypical size that you look for in an Edge rusher, and despite playing for a smaller school and smaller competition, he is someone that should be paid attention to.

When you talk about some of the more productive players on the defensive side, Walker has to come to mind, regardless of the level of competition he faced. Across three seasons, he logged double-digit sacks twice and is coming off a career-high 12 sacks in 2024 to give him 29.5 career sacks. Can you imagine what he would bring to the Bears' defense if that production could translate to the NFL?

It's fun to think about, and it's a massive reason why the Bears are starting to consider him for one of their late-round picks. Not only did he have a highly productive career on the sack side, but with 191 career tackles, he has also shown the ability to locate the ball carrier consistently and bring him to the ground.

Although he is considered a bit undersized to play the edge in the NFL, he has the potential to be a reliable player and would be more of a developmental piece than an instant producer. With the Bears having more defensive line depth this season than in the past, Walker would be the perfect addition to this unit, as Dennis Allen could use him as a pass rush specialist in specific packages.

That alone would be huge for him and the Bears defense as Allen is known for getting the most out of his players, especially young guys like Walker. Despite being seen as a fourth or fifth-rounder at this point, Walker is still viewed as one of the 15 best linebackers in this draft, and his overall production could force someone to reach for him more than you would expect.

Grabbing him in the fifth round wouldn't be a reach, but he is starting to see his name land in the fourth round, which is surprising. Even with his low measurables when it comes to size and build, Walker's production can't be overlooked, and his play reminds scouts a lot of 2024 draft pick Mohamed Kamara, who wound up having a solid rookie season.

Walker is explosive, has unbelievable lower body strength, and uses that strength to anchor down in the run game to attack the ball carrier at the line of scrimmage. Considered an average athlete, Walker has shown better athleticism than most give him credit for, especially when it comes to open-space plays. Look for him to play very similar to Ivan Pace Jr. of Minnesota, who has turned himself into a great linebacker.