Buccaneers Legend Makes Surprise Pick for Team’s Most Important Rookie

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have put in work this offseason in an effort to make a deeper playoff push in 2025. In addition to the players brought in through free agency and trades, the team will be hoping to get some immediate contributions from their rookies. When discussing the Buccaneers incoming rookie class, though, franchise legend Ronde Barber made an interesting choice when asked who he thinks the team’s most important rookie is.

While Barber himself did not immediately contribute for Tampa Bay as a rookie after being selected in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft, he understands the importance of getting production from young players on cheap contracts. And while the Buccaneers brought in some high-end talent with their early picks, Barber has some high hopes for one of the team’s Day 3 picks.

Ronde Barber Picks David Walker as Buccaneers Most Important Rookie

Barber spent 16 years in the NFL, all with the Buccaneers, and by the time he called it a career, he had established himself as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. Barber was a five-time Pro Bowler who also was selected to three All-Pro First Team squads, and perhaps most importantly, he helped Tampa Bay win Super Bowl XXXVII over the Oakland Raiders.

2012 ended up being Barber’s final year in the NFL, but he’s kept close tabs on the Buccaneers since then. Tampa Bay only selected five players in the 2025 draft, but with Emeka Egbuka, the No. 19 overall pick, highlighting the class, expectations are high for this group. Despite that, Barber doesn’t think he, or any of Tampa Bay’s first three draft picks, are the team’s most important rookie.

That distinction would fall to David Walker, who was selected in the fourth round with the No. 121 pick. Barber admitted that he didn’t have his eyes on Walker ahead of the draft, but once the Bucs selected him, he took a closer look at his tape and quickly recognized the impact he could make in his first year in the pros.

“Our No. 1 impact rookie, you might not believe this — it is David Walker,” Barber said on “The Ronde Barber Show.” “I didn’t know anything about him until we picked him, and then you go and look at what he did… when you put the film on, you’re like, ‘Holy cow, this dude has the mentality.’ It’s kinda like this underdog mentality that makes people respect him.”

Ronde Barber, Buccaneers Have High Hopes for David Walker

Walker spent two seasons with the Southern Arkansas Muleriders before transferring to the Central Arkansas Bears for three seasons. In his final campaign, Walker racked up 68 tackles and 10.5 sacks, which earned him the Buck Buchanan Award. Now, he figures to factor into the Buccaneers linebacker corps as a rookie.

While fourth-round picks don’t always enter the league with high expectations, Barber is encouraged by what he’s seen from Walker in college, and he believes that he could become a key component of the team’s defense. With Tampa Bay needing more pillars on defense, the hope is that Walker will eventually step up and fill that role.