After a lost rookie season, the Central Arkansas standout is flashing elite hand usage and relentless speed, logging seven straight days of backfield dominance in Tampa Bay.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made some big-time additions to the defensive side of the ball, with head coach Todd Bowles looking to return to the defensive prominence he has displayed in the past.
While losing Lavonte David and Jamel Dean in free agency will take some getting used too, the front office moved quickly to add talent through the 2026 NFL Draft and free agency.
But, one player who has flown under the radar is sophomore outside linebacker David Walker, who missed his rookie campaign with a torn ACL.
Pewter Report has continued to track Walker at training camp, who has perhaps been the most dominant player on the defensive side of the ball.
On Thursday, Pewter Report noted Walker's seventh-straight practice recording a "ghost" sack, beating his man to the quarterback for what would be a takedown in the regular season.
"Walker has been a pass rushing menace in camp," Pewter Report wrote via X.
After the Bucs made Walker their fourth-round selection in last year's draft, he became one of only 12 players out of Central Arkansas to ever hear their name called on draft night.
Roundtable's Joe Smeltzer highlighted his dominance at Central Arkansas, writing "For any FCS player to impress an NFL team, they must put up killer numbers, and that's what Walker did. He was a three-time All-American, ending his college career with a school-record 39 sacks (in just three seasons) and 82.5 tackles for loss."
Walker also added 244 tackles, six forced fumbles and eight passes defensed in his career, while being named defensive player of the year in his respective conference three seasons in a row.
After being drafted, Walker earned comparisons to a former Bucs Super Bowl champion, Shaquil Barrett.
Buccaneers Vice President of Player Personnel Mike Biehl shared this note after drafting him:
"Just from the instincts and the savvy that he has as a rusher, it's a lot like Shaq. If you look back at Shaq, he was actually undrafted and a lot of it was he didn't fit the typical mold of an outside 'backer," Biehl told the team's reporter. "He was successful because of his instincts as a rusher, his savviness, his hand usage -- the things that you can't really teach. We think David has a lot of those things."
While a torn ACL stunted Walker's momentum after a dominant college career, he could find himself in a significant role on the outside alongside rookie Rueben Bain Jr. and emerging defensive leader Yaya Diaby.
With the additions of A'Shawn Robinson and Al-Quadin Muhammad, and the return of Calijah Kancey, Walker will need to have a strong showing in the preseason to carve out a significant role on the edge.
But his ability and production is undeniable and if he can get back to his level of play coming out of college, Walker could become a difference-maker for a Bucs team that drafted him just for that reason.
