Johnny Walker Jr. (born December 12, 2001) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the "Fighting Tigers of Columbia" who, in 1864, protected Columbia ...

Early life and high school

Walker attended

George D. Chamberlain High School George D. Chamberlain High School is a public high school in Tampa, Florida, United States. It was opened in 1956 on North Boulevard (on the corner of Busch Boulevard). The school is named in honor of George D. Chamberlain, who served for several ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. He was rated as a three-star recruit and committed to play

for the

College career

Walker took a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

season in 2020. In the 2023 season opener, he tallied six tackles with one and a half being for a loss, and a sack versus

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

. In the 2023 Cotton Bowl Classic, Walker notched two tackles, a sack, and a forced fumble, as he helped the Tigers defeat

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

, earning the game's defensive MVP award. During his first three collegiate seasons from 2021 to 2023, he appeared in 27 games where he totaled 59 tackles with 14 being for a loss, nine sacks, and three forced fumbles. In week 9 of the 2024 season, Walker totaled four tackles with two being for a loss, and two sacks against

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. For his performance during the 2024 season, he was named second-team all-SEC.

Professional career

After going unselected in the

2025 NFL draft The 2025 NFL draft was the 90th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Lambeau Field and its adjacent Titletown District in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 24–26, 2025 ...

, Walker signed with the

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

References

External links

Denver Broncos bioMissouri Tigers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walker Jr., Johnny 2001 births Living people Players of American football from Tampa, Florida American football defensive ends American football linebackers George D. Chamberlain High School alumni Missouri Tigers football players Denver Broncos players