Panthers QB PJ Walker dishes on praise from Mahomes, his mom, and scouting the Bengals
When Carolina Panthers quarterback PJ Walker connected with wideout DJ Moore for an incredible 62-yard touchdown completion in the fourth quarter of the last week’s overtime loss to the Atlanta Falcons, the internet exploded.
Fans, analysts and fellow NFL players weighed in on Walker’s sensational accuracy and arm strength in a clutch situation. Former NFL MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes tweeted last Sunday that Walker’s downfield heave “has to be the best throw of the year and not even close!”
But Walker — who has spent the past six years working his way up from practice-squad arm to XFL standout to NFL backup quarterback to Steve Wilks’ starting quarterback — was more concerned about getting praise from another critic: his mother.
On Wednesday, Walker said his mom “just loved it, she thought it was phenomenal, she thought it was a great play, and that was really it — she was ecstatic for me though. She was excited.”
The Panthers will travel to Paycor Stadium to face off against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at 1 p.m, and Walker will lead the offense as he has done throughout Wilks’ interim reign.
On Thursday, The Charlotte Observer spoke with Walker about a handful of topics as he prepared for his fourth consecutive start.
Mike Kaye: Everyone wants to receive accolades and praise from their peers, but when you see the tweet from Mahomes, a top-tier quarterback in this league, why does that fade away when you talk to your mom?
Walker: Their opinions matter always — my peers’ opinions matter a lot, but when you get that one person that’s seen you play since you were like 7 or 5 years old, that opinion matters the most, I believe.
Just for her to be there and be supportive, and be excited for it — just as excited as I was. I think that’s really what it is, just to know her and she knows what I’ve been through — know the come-up that I’ve had — I just felt the joy with her.
Kaye: You led a 98-yard game-winning touchdown drive to help Elizabeth High School claim a New Jersey state championship in 2012. What was going through your mind when you started that drive after a goal-line stand?
Walker: We got the ball back, and it’s time to go down and score (laughs). Pretty much the same thing that was going through my mind when we were out there last Sunday (against the Falcons). Just give us the opportunity to go out there and make some plays.
Any one-on-one opportunity that you see, you’ve got to take advantage of it. And that’s my mindset as a quarterback.
Kaye: You’ve said in the past that you don’t do a lot of stuff outside of watching football during your down time, but during the week, what’s your routine at home?
Walker: I pretty much get home around 6:30 or 7 (p.m.). From there, eat some dinner, watch some more tape, and then start all over again. That’s pretty much my Wednesday and Thursday. I’m in bed by 10:30 on those days. I’m asleep pretty early.
Monday, Tuesday is more of a date night day for me. Monday, Tuesday, me and my fiancee — that’s really the things I do outside of just football.
Kaye: Going on the road, this Bengals team is missing its starting cornerback, but the defense is still really, really talented. What do you see from this defense when you watch tape?
Walker: You see the way they fly around. They’ve got a good group of guys on the back end. I think they’re very physical in coverage. I think we’re going to have to be very physical as well at receiver.
We just got to find ways to get open and find ways to win our one-on-ones. I think that’s going to be the biggest thing for us this week.
Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson and safety Vonn Bell are back there on defense, and they’re both really good at snatching interceptions. When you have defenders at those two levels — outside of the cornerbacks — who can make plays on the ball, how much more do you need to be aware of their ball skills?
Walker: I’m going to be aware of it, but I’m still going to play my game. You know, accuracy has to be at a high level — that’s really the key. A lot of these guys, they make their plays off some throws that are not there. But, for me, just got be accurate.
Get the ball into (receivers’) hands and let them go to work. Also, it isn’t a bad thing to let these guys come up and tackle our guys. It’s not easy tackling our guys like Laviska (Shenault Jr.), DJ (Moore), and those guys like that.
So, it’s really just being accurate, being on time, and taking what they give me.
Kaye: Is there a quarterback that you watch now — a contemporary — and say to yourself that you’d like to take something from their game and put it into yours moving forward?
Walker: I watch a lot of quarterbacks. From Mahomes to (Cleveland Browns QB) Deshaun Watson. I’m a big fan of (Browns QB Jacoby Brissett). Me and Jacoby was in Indy together. We have tons of conversations on a daily basis to this day — right now. Just talking about our games and talking about what we can do to better ourselves as players and as quarterbacks. So, we both give each other pointers just to help each other’s game.
There’s a whole bunch of guys that I can just take from and move forward with my game as well.
Kaye: As you said before, you’ve gone through quite the journey. Have you been able to reflect on that journey over the past few weeks?
Walker: I haven’t. Everything has just been, like, going. And for me, it’s just take advantage of every opportunity that I’m given. You’re given an opportunity, you’ve got to go out and make the best of it.
Like I always say, I was home before, that’s not where I wanted to be. So for me, it’s just about going out there, take advantage of what’s in front of me, and don’t look too far down the road, and don’t look behind you either.
