FSU Alums: Can DeMarcus Walker stay on roster for Denver Broncos?

Former FSU star DeMarcus Walker is entering his third training camp with the Broncos – and also in danger of it being his last with some media projections.

When former FSU football star DeMarcus Walker was taken in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos, there were plenty of people who expected the defensive end and EDGE player to give them as close to the 27 sack and 41.5 tackles for loss performance he had in four seasons with the Seminoles.

Through two seasons in the National Football League, Walker still has some work to do to even sniff those numbers as – through 13 games that he has been active for the Broncos in that span – Walker has come up with just 11 tackles in total to go along with two sacks.

Entering his third training camp with the team, those kind of stats have those both inside and out of the FSU family afraid that the following word is going to be used to describe Walker by the start of the 2019 NFL season: bust.

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While Walker still has a spot on the roster at this point in Denver, there have been plenty of critics out there who wonder if he will make the team in Vic Fangio’s first season as head coach. Though he did have a good weekend of practice according to the team, that has not stopped people from wondering if this is the end.

Don’t believe me? You have CBS affiliate KCNC-TV saying Walker is one of four people fighting for the final spot on the defensive line. The Denver Post used the word “salvage” in a recent article while even the FanSided site covering the Atlanta Falcons says that team should trade with Denver to bring Walker closer to home.

A decent argument could be made that during Walker’s first two seasons in the NFL after staring for FSU, he was not used properly in the coaching staff of former coach Vance Joseph. With Fangio coming in after building a solid defense with the Chicago Bears, does that mean a second chance for Walker?

Ultimately, it will depend on what he can do both in camp and during the five preseason games the Broncos will play starting on August 1st – but even then, will it be enough?