Increased opportunities knocked, and Delanie Walker answered in 2013.
Walker, who joined the Titans via a multi-year contract after seven seasons with San Francisco, became Tennessee's primary passing target at the tight end position.
He responded with career highs of 60 catches (second-most on the Titans), 571 yards (3rd on the team), and six touchdowns (team-best). It was 20 more catches and the same number of touchdowns that Walker posted in his final two 49ers seasons combined.
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[  ](http://www.titansonline.com/news/article-1/Infographic-2013-Season-Rewind---Delanie-Walker/d1baa583-fd4d-4933-a492-84c0fbce3c1e) |
| Click Here For Infographic: Delanie Walker - By The Numbers |
The six touchdown catches tied for the second-most among tight ends in the AFC, tied for eighth among TEs in the NFL and tied for 30th overall in the league. He also was selected as the 2013 Tennessee Titans Community Man of the Year for the work he did with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
Walker was targeted a total of 86 times, with those resulting in a catch 69.8 percent of the time and enabling him to become the second tight end in Titans/Oilers franchise history to have 60 catches in a season.
The increases happened despite Walker missing most of training camp with a knee injury. His blocking and comfort with the offense appeared to improve as the season progressed. Walker's most prolific game occurred in Tennessee's first meeting with Indianapolis. He had 10 catches for 91 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately for Walker and the Titans, he suffered a concussion early in the rematch two weeks later that caused him to miss the rest of that game and the following week against Denver. Walker returned to the lineup against Arizona with eight catches for 53 yards and a TD.
The chart below compares Walker's past two seasons with other tight ends that changed teams between 2012 and 2013:
|
|
Season |
Team |
G/GS |
Rec. |
Yards |
Avg. |
TDs |
Long |
Yds./Game |
|
Delanie Walker |
2012 |
SF |
16/4 |
21 |
344 |
16.4 |
3 |
45 |
21.5 |
|
2013 |
TEN |
15/11 |
60 |
571 |
9.5 |
6 |
33 |
38.1 | |
|
Martellus Bennett |
2012 |
NYG |
16/16 |
55 |
626 |
11.4 |
5 |
33 |
39.1 |
|
2013 |
CHI |
16/15 |
65 |
759 |
11.7 |
5 |
43 |
47.4 | |
|
Jared Cook |
2012 |
TEN |
13/5 |
44 |
523 |
11.9 |
4 |
61 |
40.2 |
|
2013 |
STL |
16/13 |
51 |
671 |
13.2 |
5 |
47 |
41.9 | |
|
Anthony Fasano |
2012 |
MIA |
16/16 |
41 |
332 |
8.1 |
5 |
22 |
20.8 |
|
2013 |
KC |
9/9 |
23 |
200 |
8.7 |
3 |
20 |
22.2 | |
|
Brandon Myers |
2012 |
OAK |
16/16 |
79 |
806 |
10.2 |
4 |
29 |
50.4 |
|
2013 |
NYG |
16/14 |
47 |
522 |
11.1 |
4 |
27 |
32.6 |
