Tennessee football: Ranking NFL careers of 10 Vols previously drafted by 49ers
We go to another player who saw no action in the pros. However, there may be a reason for that, which we’ll get to in a minute. Anyway, of everybody we named so far, Jackie Walker was by far the most productive for Tennessee football. He was a leader of that elite time, which included an SEC Championship in 1969, a Sugar Bowl win and top five finish in 1970 and 10 wins in 1971.
During that time, Walker became a two-time All-American, a very rare accomplishment. He was also captain of the 1971 team. Here’s the real twist: Walker was openly gay, and this was in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It’s hard enough, maybe impossible, for openly gay players to make it in the pros now, and Walker was trying to do it in 1971.
Well, despite that drawback, Walker was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers, and he was actually drafted higher than Teddy Gaines or Ed Morgan, in the sixth round at pick 148. As a result we have him ahead of both of them, and his pro career may have been sabotaged due to something, which is highly unfair.
To be objective, Walker was a bit undersized for a linebacker at the next level and did have to make a transition to safety, so he probably struggled early on with that transition. However, there may be a deeper reason for why he didn’t get enough time to make that transition.