Patriots draft profile: Jalon Walker looks tailor-made for a Mike Vrabel defense

Walker is one of the top defenders in the 2025 NFL Draft.

For years, Dont’a Hightower was the gold standard of linebacker play in New England and the epitome of what former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was looking for in a defender. A first-round draft pick in 2012, he developed into a cornerstone for the team due to his leadership, communication skills, positional versatility and athleticism.

The days of Hightower and Belichick are long gone. And yet, new head coach Mike Vrabel might be in a position to add his own version of the three-team Super Bowl winner in this year’s draft. His name is Jalon Walker.

Hard facts

Name: Jalon Walker

Position: Move linebacker (Defensive edge/Off-the-ball linebacker)

School: Georgia

Opening day age: 21 (2/24/2004)

Measurements: 6’1”, 243 lbs, 79 7/8” wingspan, 32” arm length, 10 1/4” hand size, N/A Relative Athletic Score

Experience

Colleges: Georgia (2022-24)

Career statistics: 43 games (11 starts) | 984 defensive snaps, 367 special teams snaps | 85 tackles, 9 missed tackles (9.6%), 18 TFLs, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries | 73 quarterback pressures (12.5 sacks, 9 hits, 51 hurries) | 22 targets, 15 catches surrendered (68.2%), 141 yards, 1 TD | 4 special teams tackles, 1 punt block

Accolades: Butkus Award (2024), Second-team All-SEC (2024), Third-team All-American (2024)

The son of former Catawba College head coach Curtis Walker, Jalon was a multi-sport athlete at Salisbury High School in North Carolina who also excelled in basketball and track. He eventually focused on football and was listed as a 5-star recruit by some outlets. Receiving scholarship offers from most of the noteworthy schools in the country, he decided to join Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs in 2022.

A core special teamer and part-time edge/off-ball linebacker hybrid as a freshman, he increased his defensive role during his sophomore season. Walker truly broke out as a junior in 2024, when he primarily aligned off the ball and ended up winning the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker. He followed the statistically best season of his college career by declaring his intention to forgo his final year of eligibility and turn pro.

Draft profile

Expected round: 1 (top 15) | Consensus big board: No. 11 | Patriots meeting: N/A

Strengths: Walker has “future defensive leader” written all over him. Growing up in a football environment prepared him for such a role, and contributed to him being named a captain at Georgia as a junior and to the SEC leadership council. On the field, he is deserving of this label due to his smooth and explosive moving skills: he combines an elite first step as a pass rusher with sideline-to-sideline range when used off the ball; he also translates his speed into power at both positions.

On the edge, his burst combined with upper-body strength and a powerful punch puts offensive linemen into trouble from the get-go. Even if they recover, his hand placement and quick reaction allow him to have a variety of counters ready or at the very least get his hands up to bat down passes. He also has the lateral quickness to be used on line games and the foundational base to develop as a run defender.

Off the ball, Walker does not shy away from coming downhill and leaving his mark in the running game. He diagnoses well and reacts quickly and decisively without running himself out of position. The burst he uses to create stress on the edge also allows him to effectively blitz from the second level. Walker also can shed blocks both off the ball and when pursuing from the backside.

Weaknesses: Playing both on the edge and off the ball at Georgia contributed to Walker still being a somewhat raw player in both areas. On the edge, his attack seems more instinctual than driven by a concrete plan of attacks and counters; he has shown he can be successful but might need a better feel for his opponents and how to use his hands against them at the next level. Off the ball, his coverage needs refinement especially if teams want to use him in man-to-man situations.

Another problem with Walker is his build. Measuring 6-foot-1, 243 pounds at the Scouting Combine with 32-inch arms, he lacks ideal size and length to play on the edge full-time — a usage that might be his best in the NFL. He has some tweener-element to him: he is an edge in a linebacker’s body.

Patriots preview

What would be his role? As noted above, Walker projects best as an edge rather than an off-ball linebacker. That does not mean he won’t be able to fill the latter role at a starter level, but his outlook is cleaner when aligned on the line and allowed to use his elite explosiveness against offensive linemen. In New England, Walker would likely start off as a pass rush specialist to complement current starter/early-down specialist Anfernee Jennings.

What is his growth potential? Among the youngest players in the draft, Walker has all the tools to become a Pro Bowl-caliber player, especially on the edge. To reach his full potential, however, the 21-year-old needs to become more technically refined and add more of a run defense element to his game. If he can do that, and also develop off the ball, he projects as a true three-down chess piece — somebody can be moved all over the front seven and give his defensive coordinator a player to create and exploit mismatches.

Does he have positional versatility? Walker was used as a true move linebacker in college, regularly switching his alignments from the edge to second level. It might take some time before he will be used that way in the NFL, but he has a versatile background and skillset to develop into a do-it-all defender. He furthermore has experience on five special teams units, even though his kicking game role will likely decrease the more defensive action he will see.

Why the Patriots? Ever since returning to New England to serve as head coach, Mike Vrabel has spoken about multiplicity. Even though he initially projects better as an edge than an off-ball linebacker, Walker is an intriguing player in that regard and somebody who seems tailor-made for a Vrabel defense: not only is he versatile, he also is a proven leader and somebody who fulfills the new-look Patriots’ speed requirements. As noted above, he could very well become Vrabel’s version of a Dont’a Hightower-type operator.

Why not the Patriots? Besides the simple fact that the Patriots might value other positions or prospects early in the draft — Walker could be more of a trade-back option — the team also might be turned off by his size and the uncertainty whether his versatility will translate to the NFL. In addition, there is an uncertainty about his development as a pass rusher that New England just might not be comfortable with.

One-sentence verdict: Walker is not a clean prospect due to his lack of size and uncertain projection, but he still possesses the upside to become an impact player who would make a fine addition to New England’s defense after trading down from No. 4 into the early teens.

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