‘Something I’ll cherish for the rest of my life’: Ravens rookie WR reflects on career milestone

Fourth-rounder Devontez Walker will never forget his first catch in an NFL regular season game.

With veteran Pro Bowl wide receiver Diontae Johnson suspended for the Baltimore Ravens’ Week 15 interconference matchup with the New York Giants fresh off a bye week, it meant rookie Devontez Walker would potentially have more opportunities to contribute on offense on Sunday.

The fourth-rounder was a healthy scratch for the first six games of the regular season and in his previous five appearances, he predominantly played on special teams and wasn’t targeted on any of his six offensive snaps. All that changed on the Ravens’ first drive coming out of halftime when they extended their lead over the Giants to three scores after Walker hauled in a 21-yard pass from quarterback Lamar Jackson in the back of the endzone.

“When we put that play in on Monday, it was the only play that my number was beside, so I made it my job to study it [and] know it. That’s what I did all week,” Walker said.

His studying paid major dividends as the play not only marked his first career touchdown but the first regular season catch of his career overall, a moment he told reporters in the postgame locker room is “something I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.”

“It felt good,” Walker said. “I couldn’t get too excited because I had to go right by out to [play on] special teams, but it was a good feeling. It lets me know that I belong here, and there’s many more to come, hopefully.”

While Walker was left wide open down the seam of the defense on his big play, what made it especially impressive was the body control he showed in the back of the endzone when showed off some toe-drag swag to ensure he got both feet down in bounds after making the catch. Jackson was so impressed by his spatial awareness that he bestowed the rookie with a new nickname.

“This week, we pretty much had that play drawn up just from what they’ve been doing [and] showing on defense,” Jackson said. “We caught them in that look, and ‘Tez’ did the rest. I just had to deliver him a strike, and he did the toe drag at the end, so he’s just, ‘Tez Toe Tap’ from now on.’”

Playing with the Ravens’ two-time MVP quarterback is an opportunity that many of the young players on the team imagined growing up and Walker is no different. Having such a meaningful career milestone come on a connection between the two of them made it even more special.

”I’m trying not to fanboy [about it], but obviously, it’s crazy,” Walker said. “Lamar [Jackson] is somebody I grew up in middle school [and] high school watching, and to be able to catch a touchdown from him – it’s a really good feeling.”

This marked his first catch and score in a meaningful nonexhibition game since last November in his final collegiate game for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Tar Heels.

While it boosts his confidence to finally have proof of concept at the professional level, it didn’t surprise him in the slightest given how much of a big-play threat he was in college with his blazing 4.34 speed in the 40-yard dash.

“In my head, it’s like, ‘This is what I do,’ because that was my whole college tape – making big plays down the field,” Walker said. “When the opportunity presented itself, I went out there and made it happen.”

Many of the Ravens’ mid-to-late-round picks often have to earn more playing time on their respective sides of the ball on special teams unless it arises as a result of injury. Walker has covered kicks well in the games he has appeared in including on Sunday when he made a solo tackle on kickoff following the team’s first touchdown that prevented a big return. He has also been making plays in practice on offense so to see him get rewarded in such a memorable way had his coaches and teammates elated for him after the game.

“He’s been doing great,” head coach John Harbaugh said. “He gets downfield fast, and he can track, and he can catch., so to see him make that play was really awesome. Everybody was fired up for him.”