Lions at Bills: A rising star will announce his presence in Buffalo

DETROIT, MI - NOVEMBER 18: Tracy Walker #47 of the Detroit Lions waits in the tunnel with teammates prior to the start of the game against the Carolina Panthers at Ford Field on November 18, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - NOVEMBER 18: Tracy Walker #47 of the Detroit Lions waits in the tunnel with teammates prior to the start of the game against the Carolina Panthers at Ford Field on November 18, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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The Detroit Lions have a young, rising star in their midst. Sunday, against the Buffalo Bills, he will officially announce himself to the entire NFL world.

The Detroit Lions will go into Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills with a fighting chance to keep their playoff hopes alive. It won’t be easy against one of the NFL’s best defenses, but with the help of rookie safety Tracy Walker, a rising star on their own defense, the Lions should escape Buffalo with a hard fought win.

Walker is a rookie that was picked in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft, and what many considered to be a reach at the time by Lions’ general manager Bob Quinn. Walker started out the season slow, as he was blocked by veteran safety Glover Quin. However, in recent weeks, Walker has been stealing more and more playing time from Quin.

Last week, in the 17-3 win over the Arizona Cardinals, the two defenders were on the field for the same amount of plays. Walker is having a clear effect on Quin’s playing time now that he has had time to learn the playbook and learn from one of the best minds that plays safety in the NFL. MLive.com writer Nate Atkins noticed this changing of the guard and said this about it:

"“Quin and third-round rookie Tracy Walker split the plays at free [safety] exactly evenly … Quin’s 61-percent usage rate was his second-lowest of the past three seasons… In the 13th game of the year, the rookie pulled even … The changing of the guard might be finally underway.”"

When he gets on the field, Walker has been one of the best safeties in the NFL this year without anyone noticing. Currently, Walker has earned a season grade of 90.6 from Pro Football Focus. Had he played the required amount of snaps this year his grade would place him as the second-best safety in the league.

Walker has shown this season that he can be an impact player for the Lions and one of the best safeties in the league. He has shown the ability throughout the season to recognize plays and disrupt them early.

There is not a better example of this than when he intercepted a pass from San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. Walker diagnosed the route and jumped it immediately, intercepting the ball, and likely returning it for a game-winning touchdown had it not been called back for a questionable holding call on fellow safety Quandre Diggs. He also had an impressive interception against Carolina Panthers earlier this year.

Tomorrow, against the Bills, I think Walker is going to out-snap Quin for the first time all year. Walker will make the best of it and walk out of the stadium having wrecked havoc on the Bills’ offense.

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I anticipate Tracy Walker intercepting Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen at least once, probably more, and just being an overall terror on Buffalo’s offense. Walker will announce himself as a rising star in the NFL and never look back.

For more grades, advanced statistics and more at Pro Football Focus, subscribe to PFF’s EDGE or ELITE subscriptions at ProFootballFocus.com.