ENGLEWOOD - Seven months to the day from Darrent Williams' murder, Broncos receiver Javon Walker on Wednesday stepped in front of microphones and tape recorders for the first time since the shooting.

"(There were) certain situations where I just didn't want myself in front of a camera right now," Walker said. "This is due to people that I know and people who are working with me right now . . . so what better day than today?"

Wearing a Mohawk haircut similar to the one Williams often wore, Walker pronounced himself healthy, happy to be heading toward a new season and ready for the football challenges ahead.

But not ready to talk about the early-morning hours of Jan. 1.

"I'm just talking football right now, guys," he said.

Walker was in a limousine with Williams and several others early Jan. 1 when Williams was killed in a drive-by shooting as the group left a downtown party.

Several teammates and team officials, including Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, have said Walker, who had been sitting across from Williams, was holding Williams in his arms when emergency personnel arrived.

Many around the team say they've watched Walker closely during the offseason to see how he and others in the organization who had been close to Williams handled themselves in the weeks and months that have followed.

Walker was asked several times about how he had dealt with all that happened on that January night.

"I'm just talking about football right now, guys, any football-related questions," Walker said.

Later he added, "football, please."

Still, after Walker stepped away from the cameras, he said he felt better physically than ever because, "I'm not rehabbing anything."

Then, asked if he had to rehabilitate emotionally after the shooting, Walker replied simply; "No, no, not when it comes to football."

And when it comes to football, Walker finds himself as one of the few completely healthy, proven options at a position that has had its share of injuries already during camp.

Rod Smith has a left hip injury that makes him a question mark for the season opener and Brandon Marshall has battled a thigh injury that has kept him out of all practices this week.

Walker last season entered his first training camp with the Broncos still recovering from surgery in October 2005 to repair the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

"Last year, going into camp, I was rehabbing, trying to learn on the run, so going into this season, feel healthy, feel strong, ready to give it a full go when the season starts," Walker said.

"I've been looking forward to training camp just because I'm healthy, feeling strong. Had an offseason of where I wasn't rehabilitating anything."

Walker finished his first season with the Broncos with 69 catches for 1,084 yards and eight touchdowns.

The Broncos had 14 pass plays of 30 yards or longer in 2006, and Walker had nine of them. Not only did he make five of the team's six longest touchdown receptions - 32, 83, 39, 54 and 39 yards - he had the longest run and longest scoring run with a 72-yard touchdown against Pittsburgh.

Walker said an entire offseason working with quarterback Jay Cutler - he is entering his first year as the unquestioned starter after making five starts late in the season after replacing Jake Plummer - has made the transition a smooth one.

"I'm doing good; obviously, I'm feeling healthy," Walker said. "Not doing anything that limits me, getting ready to go out each and every practice, working without having to be limited from anything. . . .

"But we had a whole offseason . . . right now it feels like we played 15 games already. The timing is there, we just got to stick with it."

When asked if that could mean more big plays this year, Walker said, "I hope so. . . . It's just all about how you use everybody's talents."

By the numbers

Javon Walker has started at least 12 games in two of his five seasons. He had at least 1,000 receiving yards during both seasons.

Year Starts Catches Yards TDs

2002 2 23 319 1

2003 3 41 716 9

2004 12 89 1,382 12

2005 1 4 27 0

2006 16 69 1,084 8

legwoldj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2359

Back to Top