It seems as though ILB Mykal Walker is being forgotten about a bit this week amid the moves the Pittsburgh Steelers have been making at the position. Though Walker is a player with starting experience, they recently brought in two far more experienced and accomplished players into the building—both of whom are past their prime, have dealt with injuries, and were recently retired.
Blake Martinez is already on the 53-man roster. Myles Jack, who was a starter in this defense last year, is on the practice squad but could just as easily dress on Sunday as an elevation. Yet until something changes, Walker is listed as the starter next to Elandon Roberts on the depth chart.
“Mykal has played a lot of football”, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said of Walker, via transcript provided by the team’s media relations department, about the man they signed less than a month ago. “We expected a solid NFL-type game out of Mike, and that’s what we got”.
Beginning on the practice squad on Oct. 30, Walker was signed to the 53-man roster on Nov. 18 and started against the Cleveland Browns the next day. He logged 63 snaps, or 84 percent of the defensive total, registering two tackles. Both tackles were run stops for no gain, as it happens.
A fourth-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2020, Walker started 20 games down south before being waived earlier this year in a somewhat surprising move on Aug. 13. He was claimed by the Chicago Bears and later spent time with the Las Vegas Raiders before winding his way into Pittsburgh on Hallow’s Eve. Three weeks later, he’s a starter, the team losing two starters to injury in the interim.
“We like to bring them in, throw them in hot”, Austin joked about Walker’s quick transition from practice squad depth to full-time starter. “He’s been here. He’s sharp. He’s a really sharp guy”.
He also allowed for the reality that there aren’t always going to be mountains of differences between defenses. Many of the issues players have transitioning from one system to another are rooted in technicalities like terminology rather than fundamentals of football.
Walker’s been able to pick that up relatively quickly, credited Austin, reiterating that the linebacker is “a really bright guy” who will only get better and more comfortable within the framework of their defense as he gains more experience.
Just don’t get too comfortable, however, because he now knows that the Steelers have two very experienced players sitting behind him in Martinez and Jack, with the latter already knowing how to run this defense.
Truthfully, I don’t know what the Steelers’ plans are, but nothing they might do would surprise me. I could see Walker starting for the rest of the year and the others remaining on the bench. Or I could see them plugging Jack into the starting lineup by next week. Either way, they are fortunate to have the options currently available to them given their losses.
