The Georgia Bulldogs consistently have an abundance of defensive talent on the NFL Draft circuit, and in the 2025 cycle, it’s the scouting report of edge rusher Jalon Walker that commands attention. Walker is a unique player, with exciting long-term potential.
Jalon Walker’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’2″
- Weight: 245 pounds
- Position: Edge Rusher
- School: Georgia
- Current Year: Junior
Georgia has a potential first-round pick at EDGE in Mykel Williams, but he’s not the only one worth knowing. Walker is another who’s started to rise more recently — specifically, in 2023, when he accrued five sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss.
Walker has been on the radar for a while, of course. He was a five-star recruit coming out of Salisbury High School in North Carolina, who many projected as a do-it-all chess piece at the linebacker position.
Early in his Georgia career, Walker played inside and off-ball LB, but his recent transition closer to EDGE has spotlighted some of his best qualities — his explosiveness, power, and penchant for disruption.
Walker’s Scouting Report
Strengths
- Hyperdense rusher with great natural leverage, compact mass, and proportional length.
- Possesses elite initial explosive capacity and can get upfield quickly while loading power.
- Has the lateral burst, bounding agility, and bend to splice through gaps on stunts.
- Has shown to sink and pinch tight angles while cornering around blockers.
- Can use his energetic lateral twitch to offset and work blockers out of proper position.
- Has the agility and fluidity to use spin counters and can stab the ice pick with length.
- Can generate massive amounts of speed to power with his burst, mass, and length.
- Uses full extensions, proper base alignment, and leg churn to maximize power output.
- Has shown he can properly align his base and acquire leverage to hold strong at contact.
- Flashes the take-on strength to slab pulling blockers and set the edge in run defense.
- Has shown he can win quickly with brisk arm-overs and double-swipes after offsetting.
- Hot-motor rusher who stays on the hunt through second and third-effort attempts.
- Speed, length, and off-ball experience combine to make him a venerable pursuit threat.
- Can execute feigned blitzes and disguised looks, and serve as a QB spy.
- Able to play from depth in run defense and has good patience and gap discipline.
Weaknesses
- Frame is slightly high-cut, which can cause occasional snags on lateral transitions.
- Sometimes struggles to roll his hips fully through swim moves and get upfield.
- With non-elite overall mass, can be jarred and knocked off course by powerful strikes.
- Can be outreached and outmuscled by larger, longer offensive tackles on extensions.
- Can be easily displaced by combo blocks in run defense, impacting early-down viability.
- Sometimes drifts too far upright with his pads, allowing blockers into his frame.
- Can improve at managing his pad level on lateral stunts and inside swim moves.
- Sometimes struggles to recalibrate against punches and stack counters off initial power.
- Has room to keep expanding his pass-rush arsenal beyond power, swims, and stunts.
- Doesn’t function as well from three and four-point stances; may be limited to stand up.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Entering the 2025 NFL Draft cycle, Walker grades out as a top-75 prospect. In time, he could work his way into the early-to-mid Day 2 range.
While Walker’s physical upside isn’t as all-encompassing as his teammate’s, he still has a very compelling profile. A former off-ball linebacker, he’s played more stand-up EDGE for the Bulldogs as of late, and therein lies his unique versatility.
With his skill set, Walker can rush off the edge from wide alignments or blitz from depth, stunt, spy, and disguise looks.
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Walker’s explosiveness and speed to power serve as his defining qualities — the latter of which is supplemented by his compact mass and proportional length. He can be incredibly disruptive from wide alignments, and his motor rarely rests as reps go on.
Walker still has room to flesh out his hand usage arsenal and improve at managing his pad level in certain phases, particularly as a stunter. But the profile is there for him to be a combined pass-rush catalyst and force in pursuit.
Best attuned for odd-front schemes as a stand-up EDGE and hybrid linebacker, Walker has the tools to eventually be a quality starter at his peak. And in the immediate timeline, his dynamic versatility ensures that he’ll see the field early.