Photography courtesy Baltimore Ravens
The rookie wide receiver hopes to make his mark in the NFL
Being about 400 miles from his family in North Carolina, Baltimore Ravens rookie wide receiver Devontez Walker thinks about them often. So much so, Walker hasn’t spent any of his $797,000 signing bonus on himself. It’s reserved for the family. He plans to take care of his three sisters, mother, and grandmother.
“The first big purchase will be for them,” Walker says. “I have not touched my signing bonus at all.”
The Ravens consider where they drafted Walker—near the middle of the fourth round at pick No. 113—to be a steal. That fits with Walker’s view of himself: the underdog. “I have been in that role my whole life,” he says.
Walker has a chance to be Baltimore’s big-play receiver. He ran the 40-yard dash in a blazing 4.36 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine in March. He showed that type of ability at the University of North Carolina last year after spending two seasons at Kent State University. The 6-foot-1, 191-pound Walker averaged 17 yards per catch for the Tar Heels, hauling in 41 passes for 699 yards and Atlantic Coast Conference-leading seven touchdowns.
Walker decided to test his skills against ACC competition and transferred to North Carolina. One of the reasons was his performance against eventual national champion Georgia in 2022, when he caught seven passes for 106 yards and a touchdown. We caught up with the prodigious footballer between practices this summer.
Photography courtesy Baltimore Ravens
What kind of season do you feel you can put together as a rookie? I can fill the void the Ravens have been looking to fill. I can take a top off the defense and open up those 20-yard and under routes for Zay Flowers. And also contribute on special teams. That would be big for me. It was something I wasn’t able to do in college that I wanted to do.
How have you been building a rapport with quarterback Lamar Jackson, a two-time NFL MVP? How is your relationship going? It has been really good since training camp started. When something doesn’t go right on the field, he will come straight to me and point it out. He says, “You will get it down.” He wants to be there for me. It’s like a big brother role. I was able to go down to Florida during the offseason for about two weeks and catch some passes from him. I was able to get some chemistry going.
How would you describe your relationship with John Harbaugh? He’s a Super Bowl winner and one of the longest tenured coaches in the NFL? Our relationship has been really good. I love him. He comes and tells me the things I am doing good and the things that I am not doing good that will make me better as a player. He wants everybody to really compete and that’s what you see on Sundays from the Baltimore Ravens. That hard-nosed physical style of football. That is the kind of thing I see from coach Harbaugh.
What veteran receiver are you closest to? What have you learned from him? I would say Nelson Agholor. He is someone I go to with all my questions. He was also down in Florida, and I was able to pick his brain. I go and hang out at his house a lot. He is the veteran I have clung to since I have been here. I have learned a lot about route running from him. I want to show everyone what I can do out there and that I can do those things that a lot of scouts, pre-draft, thought I couldn’t do. He has really given me some insights.
You were drafted in the fourth round, on the third day of the event. You were projected to go in the second or third rounds and had to sit through two long days of hearing other names called. Does that motivate you? It really motivates me. No matter how many receivers went ahead of me in the draft, I don’t think they are better than me. It is what it is. But I was very happy to get that call from the Ravens. I feel I can be a big contributor to this team, so I feel I ended in a good spot. I’m blessed.
I understand that the phone call you got from the Ravens when you were drafted was from GM Eric DeCosta. And you cried? Tell me about that. He [DeCosta] asked me If I would like to catch passes from Lamar Jackson. I just thought it was crazy. Someone I watched all throughout high school and college. I would be catching passes from him. That, plus him telling him he loved my skill set and that I am a special player brought me to tears. It was something I loved to hear.
