Derel Walker

Derel Walker (born June 29, 1991) is a Canadian football wide receiver for the Edmonton Football Team of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was named a CFL All-Star in 2015 and 2016 and received the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie Award in 2015. He is a Grey Cup champion after winning the 103rd Grey Cup with Edmonton in his rookie year. He previously attended Texas A&M University where he played college football for the Aggies.

Derel Walker
No. 87     Edmonton Football Team
Walker before his first game with the Argonauts in 2019.
Born: (1991-06-29) June 29, 1991
Hillsboro, Texas
Career information
CFL statusAmerican
Position(s)Wide receiver
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight188 lb (85 kg)
CollegeTexas A&M
High schoolHillsboro (TX)
Career history
As player
2014Tennessee Titans*
2014Omaha Mammoths
2015–2016Edmonton Eskimos
2017Tampa Bay Buccaneers*
2017–2018Edmonton Eskimos
2019Toronto Argonauts
2021–presentEdmonton Football Team
*Off-season and/or practice roster only.
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star2015, 2016
CFL East All-Star2019
CFL West All-Star2015, 2016, 2018
Career stats

Early career

Walker played high school football as well as baseball and track and field at Hillsboro High School. He also participated in power-lifting. He was named an honorable mention to the 2008 Super Centex team and a member of the 2009 All-Centex team by the Waco Tribune-Herald.[1][2] From 2010 to 2011, he played junior college football at the local Trinity Valley Community College. During his two seasons at Trinity Valley, he made 44 catches for 864 yards and 10 touchdowns[3] while helping to lead his team to the second round of playoffs in 2011.[1]

Walker committed to transfer to Texas A&M in early 2012 to play for the Aggies.[4] In a fall scrimmage, Walker caught two touchdown passes of 20 and 35 yards.[5] He played a minor role in the regular season, playing in 12 games but catching only eight passes for 85 yards and no touchdowns.[1] Walker was more active in his final year with the Aggies in 2013. He played large roles against Arkansas when he caught seven passes for 81 yards and against Vanderbilt when he caught his first two touchdown passes at Texas A&M.[6][7] Walker was third on the team in catches with 45 receptions and second on the team with 705 receiving yards in the regular season.[8] In the post-season, Walker made an impact at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, where he made six catches for 113 yards including a 44-yard touchdown.[9][10] He finished his career at Texas A&M with finishing with 59 receptions for 903 yards and five touchdowns.[11] Walker was the last receiver to catch a pass from quarterback Johnny Manziel before Manziel was drafted by the Cleveland Browns.[12]

Professional career

Tennessee Titans

Walker was eligible for the 2014 NFL Draft but went undrafted. He was later signed by the Tennessee Titans as a free agent.[13] He was released at the end of the pre-season in 2014.[14]

Edmonton Eskimos

Walker was signed as a free agent by the Edmonton Eskimos on April 29, 2015 after participating in an Eskimos mini-camp in Florida.[15] He was placed on the practice roster at the end of the pre-season, where he remained until he was activated in early August following a hip injury to Adarius Bowman. Walker made his CFL debut in a game against the Montreal Alouettes on August 13, where he recorded 10 catches for 125 yards as well as a tackle.[16] The following week against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Walker caught 14 passes for 183 yards.[12] Walker would go on to finish the 2015 CFL season with 89 receptions and 1,110 yards and 6 touchdowns (in only 12 games played). In the Western Final, Derel Walker had 11 receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown as the Eskimos advanced to the 103rd Grey Cup game over the Calgary Stampeders, their provincial rivals. During the Grey Cup festivities, Walker was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie.[17] Walker continued to perform well into the 2016 season, finishing second in the league in both receptions (109) and yards (1,589) trailing teammate Adarius Bowman in both instances. Shortly after the end of their season, the Eskimos released Walker to allow him to pursue an NFL career.[18] Walker's CFL contract was originally scheduled to expire in February 2017.[19]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On January 5, 2017, Walker signed a reserve/future contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, reuniting him with college teammate Mike Evans.[20] He was released by the Buccaneers on September 2, 2017 after recording just one reception for 15 yards in the preseason.[21]

Edmonton Eskimos (second stint)

On September 6, 2017, it was announced that Walker had re-signed with the Edmonton Eskimos.[22] Walker only played in eight games for the Eskimos in 2017, but caught 48 passes for 634 yards with two touchdowns. On January 12, 2018, the Eskimos announced that they had signed Walker to a one-year contract extension through the 2018 season.[23] Walker was fourth in the league in receiving yards (875) in early September 2018 when it was announced we would miss the next six to eight games with a knee injury.[24] Walker missed the rest of the season, but was still named a divisional All-Star.

Toronto Argonauts

As a highly coveted free agent, Walker visited with Toronto Argonauts General Manager Jim Popp over several days, and eventually signed a one-year contract reportedly for $275,000 Canadian, making him the highest paid non-quarterback in the CFL.[25] Walker's 2019 started off slowly, seeing few targets from starting quarterback and fellow former Edmonton player James Franklin, who resorted to check downs to Llevi Noel. However, once Franklin was injured and McLeod Bethel-Thompson was inserted for the majority of the year, Walker's playmaking abilities as a deep threat could be fully utilized. His two best games had 9 catches and two touchdowns each, and yardage totals of 188 and 203 yards. Walker finished the last few games of 2019 on the injured list, but had made 65 catches for 1,040 yards and 6 scores. He was the team leader in receiving yards by 1 yard (S.J. Green finished with 1,039), and was named the Argos nominee for Most Outstanding Player award.[26] Both Walker and Green were named divisional All-Stars, the only Toronto players from the offense to be named to the list.[27] Walker was not re-signed by the Argonauts following the 2019 season and became a free agent on February 11, 2020.[28]

Edmonton Football Team (third stint)

Walker did not sign with a team in 2020 as the 2020 CFL season was cancelled. On January 8, 2021, it was announced the Walker had re-signed with the Edmonton Football Team to a one-year contract.[29]

References
  1. "Derel Walker". Texas A&M University Athletics. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  2. Conine, Chad (January 18, 2009). "TRIBUNE-HERALD SUPER CENTEX FOOTBALL TEAM 2008: A season to cherish for Midway". Waco Tribune-Herald. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  3. "Derel Walker". Edmonton Eskimos. Archived from the original on September 2, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  4. Dial, Jenny (February 1, 2012). "A&M: Aggies get playmakers, D-line help in talented 2012 recruiting class". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  5. Cessna, Robert (August 12, 2012). "Texas A&M's QB race still wide open after open practice". McClatchy – Tribune Business News. Tribune Content Agency LLC.
  6. Cessna, Robert (September 29, 2013). "Aggies' defense handle Razorbacks' 'kitchen-sink' offense, running backs take care of rest in 45–33 win". McClatchy – Tribune Business News. Tribune Content Agency LLC.
  7. Bowen, Larry (October 27, 2013). "Key matchup: Pair of wideouts put on show at Kyle Field". McClatchy – Tribune Business News. Tribune Content Agency LLC.
  8. "Five football recruits to enroll at Texas A&M in January". McClatchy – Tribune Business News. Tribune Content Agency LLC. December 20, 2013.
  9. Cessna, Robert (January 1, 2014). "The Eagle, Bryan, Texas, Robert Cessna column". McClatchy – Tribune Business News. Tribune Content Agency LLC.
  10. Roberson, Doug (January 1, 2014). "Trailing by 21 points, Manziel rallies Texas A&M past Duke in second half in a Chick-fil-A Bowl thriller". McClatchy – Tribune News Service. Tribune Content Agency LLC.
  11. Moddejonge, Gerry (May 4, 2015). "Eskimos augment camp roster with QBs, receivers among dozen additions". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  12. "Ticats put up 49 points in convincing win over Eskimos". CFL.ca. August 22, 2015. Archived from the original on August 22, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  13. Glennon, John (May 17, 2014). "Tennessee Titans test undrafted wide receivers". Tennessean. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  14. Wyatt, Jim (August 25, 2014). "Ken Whisenhunt on Titans' roster cuts: 'It's tough'". Tennessean. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  15. O'Leary, Chris (April 29, 2015). "Edmonton Eskimos sign seven players". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  16. Moddejonge, Gerry (August 14, 2015). "Edmonton Eskimos: Walker fills in well for Adarius Bowman". Edmonton Sun. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  17. "Eskimos' Derel Walker wins CFL most outstanding rookie award". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  18. "Eskimos release Walker; inks with Bucs - Article - TSN". TSN. 2017-01-05. Retrieved 2017-01-06.
  19. "Derel Walker bidding farewell to Edmonton Eskimos". Edmonton Journal. 2016-11-22. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
  20. "Buccaneers Add CFL Star Derel Walker". Buccaneers.com. January 5, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  21. Smith, Scott (September 2, 2017). "Wide Variety of Moves Gets Bucs to 53". Buccaneers.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-08.
  22. "Derel Walker back in Green and Gold, inks deal with Esks". CFL.ca. September 6, 2017.
  23. "Eskimos Re-Sign Derel Walker - Edmonton Eskimos". Edmonton Eskimos. 2018-01-12. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
  24. "Derel Walker to miss next 6-8 weeks with knee injury - CFL.ca". CFL.ca. 2018-09-06. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  25. TSN ca Staff (February 14, 2019). "All-Star WR Walker, Argos strike 1-year deal - TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
  26. https://www.cfl.ca/2019/10/30/cfl-announces-2019-team-award-winners/
  27. https://www.cfl.ca/2019/11/06/2019-cfl-division-stars-announced/
  28. "Derel Walker still unsigned on second day of CFL free agency - Sportsnet.ca". www.sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  29. "Derel Walker returns to the EE Football Team". Edmonton Football Team. January 8, 2021.
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