Analysis
10/28/22
9 min read
PJ Walker Has Given Carolina Panthers Renewed Hope
For all the attention quarterbacks receive in the NFL, many around the league are outside of that spotlight, working at their craft behind the scenes, sometimes for years, while waiting for their opportunity.
Some come up short, proving that they either need more time to develop or simply don’t have what it takes to be one of the league’s 32 starters at the position. Others, through retirement, trade or injury, find a way to prove themselves as worthy against the great odds stacked against them.
We have seen it this year with the success in Seattle by Geno Smith, who played for years behind Russell Wilson, continued to work on his craft, and has made the most of it when opportunity came his way. Last Sunday in Charlotte, a younger and less-experienced quarterback was given the opportunity to show what he has learned along his journey.
One week after the firing of Panthers coach Matt Rhule, Carolina started PJ Walker at quarterback. If you haven’t heard, the Panthers won the game, which at the time meant a lot more to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers than to Carolina. Walker dropped back to pass 24 times and completed 17 for a 72% completion percentage, two touchdowns, and most importantly did not have any turnovers. The Panthers played great defense under interim head coach Steve Wilks, and combined with the play of Walker, they defeated the Buccaneers, 21-3.
The Journey
In football, a quarterback’s journey to the NFL is unique, and that certainly can be said for Carolina’s new starting QB. So, who is PJ Walker, and how did his journey lead him to be the winning quarterback last Sunday over all-time great Tom Brady?
After a successful college career playing for Rhule at Temple, Walker was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent. He spent time on and off the Colts’ practice squad and was released in September 2019 just after training camp.
I first became aware of Walker during my year as head coach and general manager for Tampa Bay in the XFL, where Walker was the starting QB for June Jones and the Houston Roughnecks before play was disbanded due to the pandemic in 2020.
We had a joint practice with Houston during our training camp, and though his 5-foot-11 physical stature was not impressive, I could not have been more impressed with his ability to drop back and throw the football. It didn't take long for him to show his talent in the Roughnecks’ first game against the Los Angeles Wildcats, when he threw four touchdowns in a 37–17 victory.
Walker and his Roughnecks finished the 2020 XFL season with a 5–0 record, 1,338 passing yards, and 15 touchdowns, with four interceptions. He impressively led the league in both passing touchdowns and yards.
During the 2020 XFL training camp and the five-game COVID-shortened season, it was clear to me there was a special quality to Walker, and much of that showed up in his ability to throw the football from inside and outside the pocket as well as on the move.
He was not the most talented athletically and didn’t scare you with his ability to escape or make explosive plays with his feet, but it was clear that this young man could see the field, was mindful of ball security, and could make throws with anticipation and accuracy from multiple arm angles.
Look at the arm angle of this red-zone throw in 2020 against the St. Louis Battlehawks. That is incredibly impressive.
🎯 @pjwalker_5 lookin' like @PatrickMahomes on this TD pass for the @XFLRoughnecks pic.twitter.com/0F6g4poiza
— XFL on FOX (@XFLonFOX) February 16, 2020
On March 25, 2020, Walker signed a two-year contract with the Panthers, reuniting him with Rhule. Walker now has three career NFL starts, and a 3-0 record.
This past week, the Panthers rushed for 173 yards, the defense held Tampa Bay to 2-of-12 on third down, and Walker took care of the ball while keeping his team out of trouble and getting them into the end zone with some big-time throws.
Let's look at why it might be time to take the play of Walker a little more seriously:
The pass below (Picture A) is truly a rare throw, even for a franchise quarterback. This is a three-level, universal NFL concept, essentially designed to clear out the cornerback at top left of the screen while preventing him from falling off the out route on the 28-yard line at the top of the screen. If that out route is covered, the flare control is the wide flare, or H-back Tommy Tremble on the hashmark. There is a lot going on here.
In this game, offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo opened the entire playbook, starting with taking a shot while backed up in Tampa territory. This is appropriate situational football. The read clearly takes Walker to the out route, but he sees it differently and launches a 45-yard dime to Terrace Marshall. I refuse to believe this route was in the read, but PJ saw it differently, and this blows my mind! This throw is special — and this was the first pass play of the game!
(Picture A)
This ball travels 50 yards in the air. It is thrown with anticipation, touch, arm talent, and guts. The ball placement (below) was excellent.
(Picture B)
Later, with 35 seconds left in the first half, Walker showed elite spatial awareness and anticipation for the second time in this game.
This is a quarters coverage shown below on Picture C. The slot receiver is running a corner route and the outside receiver pictured on the 5-yard line is running a post while being doubled by the strong safety.
In theory, both wide receivers are covered, and Walker should reset and check the ball down to the H-back Tremble on the left hashmark. This would be a completion and considerable run after catch for Tremble. If you look at this picture closely, the ball is already out of Walker’s hand. Look where wide receiver DJ Moore is at the top (on the 5-yard line) headed for the post. This is special on multiple levels.
(Picture C)
In Picture D (below), look at where this ball is completed — 1 yard inside the end line. Everything about this throw is elite. Vision, spatial awareness, ball trajectory, accuracy, and anticipation. Credit the Panthers' offensive line with great pass protection. This is a throw that franchise-caliber quarterbacks make.
(Picture D)
With 9:39 remaining in the fourth quarter, Walker closed out the Buccaneers with this touchdown pass to Tremble (Picture E below). Once again with great pass protection from the Panthers' offensive line, Walker sees cornerback Zyon McCollum level (or rotate down) and recognizes that the safety is late over the top, delivering a perfectly thrown ball.
(Picture E)
In Picture F (below), you can see the perfect trajectory and accuracy of the pass over the top of the corner and outside the safety, leading Tremble to the near pylon.
Picture F
Picture G (below) shows Walker’s ability to diagnose coverage after the snap of the ball.
This is a third-and-5 call where the primary receiver is the slot receiver running on a quick out cut at the bottom of the screen on the 32-yard line. The base progression would be No. 1 (quick out), hitch to No. 2 (crossing over ball), and climb to No. 3 (breaking in on the basic from the field side).
After the snap of the ball, Walker takes the law into his own hands. The design of the route by the receiver at the bottom is to widen and deepen the corner for the quick out and to get the completion for a first down. Just after the ball is snapped, Walker recognizes corner rotation at the bottom, then takes beginner football (QB 101) and turns it into a masterclass with vision, anticipation, and confidence. With no conscience, he takes the “hole shot” to Marshall over the top of the corner and before the free safety can get there. This is once again elite-level QB play.
(Picture G)
From the right hash, it takes legitimate NFL arm talent to stick this ball in the hole to Marshall (Picture H below). This is more than 30 yards on a rope and accurate to force the safety to play through Marshall’s body to get to the ball.
(Picture H)
During last week’s game, coach McAdoo moved Walker outside of the pocket to his left (Picture I below), and Walker showed the ability to simultaneously throw on the move, change speeds on the ball, and deliver with accuracy to maximize the gain.
(Picture I)
This throw (Picture J below) on a movement outside the pocket to his right sealed the game for Carolina, as he hit Moore for a first down between his numbers for a first down that enable the Panthers to stay on the field and keep Brady on the bench late in the fourth quarter.
(Picture J)
Over the last three years, I have watched Walker play both in person and on tape. Although I am not ready to anoint him as a future franchise QB, one cannot disregard what we have seen from him when he has had opportunities to be the starter.
“PJ is a winner, I am so glad he is getting a chance,” his former XFL head coach June Jones, a man whom I greatly respect, told me. “PJ gets it and just wins. He can make throws that the great ones make. He’s winner that the rest of team rallies around.”
Walker has made it very clear, at least to this point in his career, that the stage is not too big.
His journey, like that of all quarterbacks, is unique. It's what makes the game great. Kurt Warner was working in a grocery store, Brady was Pick 199 in the draft, and it took Warren Moon six years and five Grey Cup victories in the CFL to get his NFL opportunity.
If Walker continues to take care of the football, stays healthy and makes three or four of the spectacular throws like he made last Sunday against the Buccaneers, you just never know. He most certainly has a chance.
The NFL season is fluid, and there is enough time for the Panthers. The narrative in Carolina has now changed. The Panthers could move into first place in the NFC South if they beat Atlanta this Sunday.
Which QB in the NFC South is playing better than Walker? The sample size is small, but when the Panthers went to work this week, they had a renewed sense of hope. That hope is PJ Walker, and I am rooting for him.
