Football Outsiders: Darrin Walls a Breakout Prospect

he's pretty good outside of the cinci game when marvin jones ran a train on milliner & walls

 

I think we'll be alright. Milliner started to show flashes late last year and people forget how good he was at Bama. The potential is there, Rex didn't draft him top 10 for no reason.

The other spot is interesting, Walls impressed us all coming out of nowhere but hasn't had to be relied on as a every down guy and Patterson is a journeyman towards the end of his career. Add in McDougle who no one knows much about because of his injury and we have a competition. I believe Wilson will stay in the slot where he's been really good at. Surely one of the other guys could man the outside spot. At least I hope..

 

The one thing I know about Walls, is that I dont know a lot about him. And to me when judging a CB thats a good thing.

 

I, too, think Walls is underrated. He played very well when Millner was benched repeatedly and I would have liked to see Rex play him instead of Cromartie. He's got good size ( think he's over 6 feet) and plays the ball well. For some reason though, think Rex doesn't see him as a full time starter.

 

I don't think Walls is underrated on here. A lot of people wanted him to start in place of Dee or Cromartie last season. He had a couple rough plays in a couple games(CIN and TEN I think) that I think quieted the talk, but everyone was mostly excited to see him get playing time after that and wanted him to see the field more.

 

Walls was solid but not spectacular last season. He seems to have good instincts and technique but lacks speed. I'd be fine with him as a starter.

 

I think Walls can be a solid backup or slot CB in the NFL, but after watching him last season, I don't think he d make a good starter. He actually has very good speed, can do change of direction well, and does a solid job of staying with his receiver generally. The problem with him is that although he is always in the right place, he cannot make the play once there (either knock the ball down or make sure the receiver doesnt catch it). Many times last season, he was in the perfect position to do something, and then the receiver caught the ball anyway. Later on, I saw that during the combine, his vertical jump was very low, so I am guessing that's the problem, he just can't get up high enough to interfere with the ball. Since that's not something that will likely get better with experience, I have doubts about him ever developing beyond the backup role. Could be wrong of course.

 

It's fair to be concerned about his vertical, especially based on the measurable results you cited. However, it is possible through strength training and proper coaching that he improves his vertical.

I can't reference any NFL players who actually have improved their vertical, but I always here about guys boosting their strength and explosiveness; so, you gotta figure it's possible for him to increase his vert.

 

Good post. There were extensive discussions about Walls early in the just completed off season. I think you sum up the problems with him. Ftr I strongly doubt he amounts to anything more than he is already, which is a decent backup who allows too many completions to be anything more than that.

 

Its a huge improvement that's needed. I just checked, his vertical was 28", that's just awful. For comparison purposes Cro was 42", Revis and Wilson were both 38". The inability to go up and defend is a major concern. That said, I think there is plenty of good depth in the secondary. There isn't a superstar shut down corner but they have a group of guys that can compete. Who knows maybe even someone like Ras I Dowling can stay healthy enough to contribute. Given the strengths of this D up front and now at the safety positions they can get away with an average to slightly above average secondary. I'm less concerned with the secondary than I am with the LB's.. will Coples live up to his billing? Is Barnes healthy (apparently not with Babin here.. I like that move)? Can Harris still play at a high level? Will Davis continue to improve? Where is ILB depth? etc.

Without Cro and Revis here there is a huge opportunity for Wilson if he's willing to change his style. Up until last year Cro was able to get away with his catch em from behind style. With Wilson he just ran behind them and watched them score. Who's to say Wilson didn't try emulate the Cro style? That's a piece of reporting I'd love the beat guys to know and contribute...who's mentoring whom, are they being coached in a certain style or are the coaches just trying to refine their own style. This is likely Wilson's last opportunity if he really wants to become a starting corner, otherwise he'll be a career slot guy (nothing wrong with that but a high pick like he was should strive for more). I'm doubtful he can change this style but he's old enough now to know if he wants the big$ he better change or he'll just be a vet minimum guy the rest of his career.

 

^^ Yikes, 28 does seem pretty low, especially compared to those other guys.

And just to echo your sentiment about the Secondary's depth -- I like the collection of guys we have back there. Like you said, if someone like Dowling can stay healthy and McDougal steps up, then I think we'll be alright. Instead of having that one guy (Revis) or dynamic duo (Revis & Cro), we have a stable of guys who are on a lower tier than those aforementioned two, but they have the potential to produce; and an injury to one or two of them won't doom the Defense.

 

The vertical test is also a measure of the players explosion/athletic ability in general, so Walls is definitely working with less compared to those other players.

 

Hey, can you expand on that idea? "Working with less," as in, his body?

 

I've always been pretty high on Walls but most people on this board will disagree. I guess we'll see what happens this year with the logjam that is the CB #2 position.

 

I was high on Walls at certain points last season, but if he can't prove himself, it's better to be high on weed.

Then again, I was high on Simms and I don't think he's ever going to get a chance to prove himself with this team. Might be the same deal with Walls.

 

I would love Walls to have a breakout season, because the other candidates for #2cb do not inspire confidence at this point. Imo Rex will keep Wilson as the nickel. It's too much to change up in testing Wilson as the starter again, which would merely require finding someone else to be effective as the nickel. Too many moving parts.

Plus I think Wilson is natural as the nickel. Outside, not so much.

Either someone will step up, or the secondary will have a long season. Will it be Walls?

Doubt it.

 

Wilson is definitely not an outside corner. For whatever weird reason, he just cannot track the ball at all. Maybe it's just one of those things where if he lifts his head up to look for the ball, he will lose the receiver. Most corners probably can feel where the receiver is without having to look at them all the time, but apparently Wilson can't. Kinda weird, cause he does have the physical tools.

I think Milliner and McDougle are our best candidates at starting corner right now. Patterson can do the job, but given his age and injury history, he's a stop-gap measure, so I am hoping McDougle wins the position at some point in the season. Dowling also has a significant injury history. Milliner and McDougle have had health issues too, but not quite on the same scale yet (knocking on wood). If either of them don't work out this season, wouldn't be surprised to see us draft a CB early next year. Maybe we'll get lucky with one of our developmental propsects, like Dixon or Jeremy Reeves.

 

Certainly to start the season, more likely we will see Patterson out there than Walls. Walls will likely come off the bench. He would imo only start if Patterson can't play and McDougle is not ready.

 

Admittedly, Wall's story is very captivating. The idea of finding a gem from street talent appeals to me much like other "against the odds" stories. That being said, I root for the laundry. I don't care who fills the CB positions -- be it Milliner, Walls, Patterson, Reeves, Dixon -- hell, if they put Smith and Vick at CB and they perform well, I'll be happy.