Walker catching on as elite NFL receiver

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- He wears No. 84, gives defensive backs fits with his deep-ball prowess and leads the league in yards receiving. He's sure he'll make his mark on the big showdown today between the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers.

Not Randy Moss.

Javon Walker.

The Packers' third-year pro blossomed into one of the league's top downfield threats over the second half of last season when he fueled Green Bay's playoff run with a team-leading nine touchdown receptions.

When he arrived at training camp this summer, Walker proclaimed his desire to be mentioned with Moss and Philadelphia's Terrell Owens when people talk about the NFL's ruling receivers.

So far, so good.

Walker's 783 yards and seven touchdowns are similar to Owens' statistics (750 yards, nine TDs), and he's averaging 17 yards a catch, giving Brett Favre a vertical option to go with Ahman Green's ground game and the short, safe passes usually associated with the West Coast offense.

"I'm not satisfied," Walker said, "because I want to be better than that."

Moss' numbers (eight TDs and 394 yards) are impressive but stunted because he's been hobbled by a strained hamstring for nearly a month and missed a game Monday night for the first time in his seven seasons in the NFL.

Vikings coach Mike Tice said Thursday that Moss was out, something the Packers considered a smoke screen.

"I'm not buying that at all," said Packers safety Darren Sharper, who might miss the game himself because of a knee injury. "I've been around long enough to know that you can't really believe questionable or doubtful. I wouldn't be surprised if an hour before kickoff we see No. 84 trotting out there for Minnesota."

No. 84 will sure be trotting out there for Green Bay when the surging Packers (4-4), winners of three straight, try to supplant the stumbling Vikings (5-3), who have lost two in a row, atop the NFC North.

Or, more precisely, he'll be sprinting deep down the sideline.

Walker's emergence as a deep threat -- as well as a sure thing on third down, where he leads the league with 321 yards receiving -- has given Favre many more options.

It's also benefited Green Bay's rushing game, which was hampered early on by Green's Achilles' tendon injury, the result of wearing cleats that were too small in an August scrimmage, and the loss of Pro Bowl center Mike Flanagan to a season-ending knee injury.

Opponents are no longer leaving Walker one-on-one but double- teaming him or rolling coverages his way. "I think he's commanding a little bit more respect," offensive coordinator Tom Rossley said.

Sometimes, as is often the case with Moss, a receiver forgoes statistics for impact, drawing attention so that others can make the plays. But Walker hasn't stopped producing. He's out-jumping two and three defenders to come down with the ball.

"His attitude when the ball goes up is that he's going to get it, and that's been the biggest change in him in the last year," Rossley said. "I think he's no longer thinking about assignments and splits and depths. He's just thinking about going to get the ball."

Walker is well on his way, Rossley said, to joining Moss and Owens as the top targets in the NFL.

"If you look back to where those receivers were in their third years, that's where you'd have to compare them," Rossley said. "What we like about him is the more he plays, the better he gets."

Walker is comparable to Moss and Owens right now, insisted teammate Donald Driver, whose 543 yards receiving and four TDs give Green Bay the best receiving tandem in the league.

"You'd have to rank him as one of the top receivers in the league," Driver said. "Javon has always said he wants to make plays. One thing he always tells us, it doesn't matter how many balls he catches, as long as he gets three of four deep balls a game, he's pretty much happy."

Just like Moss.

But unlike Moss, whose impact was immediate, Walker was a late- bloomer. He played three years of minor league baseball after high school before returning to football and starring at Florida State. The Packers made him their top pick in 2002.

Walker might have hung up his glove for good, but he's never lost his love for the long ball.

"For me," Walker said, "my game has always been 'go deep.' "

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