Walker continues to shine for Eskimos after departure of Bowman, Zylstra
EDMONTON — While two of the go-to guys from the 2017 Edmonton offence that led the CFL in passing yards are gone, receiver Derel Walker has made it abundantly clear he’s still here.
Walker, 26, delivered big results in a 33-30 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to open the season June 14 with seven catches, including a 101-yard touchdown strike from Mike Reilly, for 176 yards. That’s tops in the CFL through one week as the Eskimos prepare to host the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, who opened with 28-14 loss to the Calgary Stampeders, on Friday.
“I definitely take it as motivation because the guys who were here prior to me, Adarius Bowman and Brandon Zylstra, they did great when they were here,” Walker said. “I’m just coming in this year willing to add on to what those guys did.
“Adarius was one of my great friends. I came in here for my rookie year in 2015 and he really took me under his wing. I learned so much from the guy.”