Former Fresno State standout Mykal Walker drafted by Atlanta Falcons in Round 4
A conference call from Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, general manager Thomas Dimitroff and coach Dan Quinn left former Fresno State linebacker Mykal Walker at a loss for words.
“Oh my God, oh my God!,” Walker said on a conference call with the Falcons’ front office.
“We’re so excited to have you join our team,” Quinn told Walker.
The Falcons selected Walker in the fourth round (119th overall) of the NFL Draft on Saturday.
Blank sent out a congratulatory message to Walker.
“We’re excited as heck to have you here in Atlanta,” Blank told Walker. “I know it’s a long way from Fresno, but you’ll love Atlanta. It’s a great city, great community. You got a great roster and a great group of young men to get connected.”
Having a productive NFL Scouting Combine benefited Walker. He was listed at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.65 seconds.
At Fresno State, Walker finished with 91 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and five pass deflections.
He was a two-time first team All-Mountain West pick after transferring from Azusa Pacific in 2017.
Walker had hoped to work out at Fresno State pro day, but the coronavirus pandemic put a halt to that.
Bulldogs coach Kalen DeBoer is pumped up for Walker.
“I couldn’t be more fired up for him,” he said. “The path he took to get to this point, I think he had a plan and he executed that plan. He has always represented us in such a first-class way. I couldn’t be more excited for him and I know he’s going to do great things there with the Falcons and make their team better as well.”
NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah is impressed with Walker.
“He’s a big, powerful linebacker,” Jeremiah said. “When you talk about linebackers, we use the term stopping power. This guy hits you, that’s it. No yards after contact. He plays extremely strong.”
Walker will be the second former Fresno State player on the Falcons’ 2020 roster. In March, Atlanta signed defensive tackle Tyeler Davison to a three-year contract extension.
This story was originally published April 25, 2020 at 10:08 AM.
