NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Delanie Walker plays with reckless abandon on the football field, sacrificing his body on every snap.
It's a dangerous game, and Walker knows it.
A trip to the Hawaii for the Pro Bowl opened Walker's eyes up to another hazardous calling – surfing.
Not far from his hotel on the North Shore, he took in a sight he won't soon forget.
"The waves have been getting 20-30 feet high here. They say they've been as big as they have been in years, and that's the most amazing thing, to see these waves,'' Walker said.
"I've watched people surf, and it so insane, they have to drive them out to them on a Sea-Doo. (Football) is no joke, but what (the surfers) are doing, it's more dangerous. You get swallowed up by a 30-foot wave, now that's crazy. I'm not about that life."
Walker rode the waves of a record-breaking season all the way to his first Pro Bowl. He was added to the all-star game as an alternate earlier this week, joining fellow Titans teammate Jurrell Casey on the squad.
Walker said the trip serves as a reward for his hard work over the years, especially last offseason.
"It is an accomplishment to make it, working hard all year and being able to perform at a high level during the season. Guys here have been saying, "Man, I like your game. Your game is really good,'' Walker said. "You should have been here and not as an alternate. Just to hear that, it means a lot to me."
The biggest compliment Walker said he's received came from Raiders defensive back Charles Woodson, an 18-year pro who has been named to nine Pro Bowls.
"Charles Woodson talked to me and told me he liked my game,'' Walker said. "To hear him say that, it means a whole a lot. I have been watching him and seeing him play at a high level as many years as he has played. That meant a lot to me."
Titans TE Delanie Walker and DL Jurrell Casey compete at the 2016 Pro Bowl. (Photos: AP, NFL, Dwight Spradlin)
It was a heck of a 2015 season for Walker, who led the Titans and all NFL tight ends with a career-high 94 receptions. He had 1,088 receiving yards, with six touchdowns. During the season, Walker set franchise records for tight ends in catches and receiving yards.
Walker became just the ninth tight end in NFL history to record 90 catches in a season, joining Tony Gonzalez (five times), Jason Witten (four), Todd Christensen (two) and Dallas Clark, Jimmy Graham, Ben Coates, Martellus Bennett and Rob Gronkowski.
Walker invited family to experience the trip with him, along with the other tight ends on the Titans. Anthony Fasano and Craig Stevens couldn't made it because of recent newborns in their families, but tight end Phillip Supernaw and Kevin Greene took him up on the offer.
Walker isn't regretting it – at least not yet.
"I got their plane tickets, and everything else they have to do on their own,'' Walker said with a smile. "They are enjoying it, saying "Thanks for bringing me, we're having a blast." But yesterday they were sending me pictures of them having a blast while I was working. I was telling them, "Stop sending me pictures, man." … But nah, we're having a good time."
Walker said he wants to have a good time on Sunday as well.
"I am going to represent the Tennessee Titans, that's where I live, that's who I play for and I am going to go out and give it all I've got,'' Walker said. It's great to have Jurrell here, too. We have two guys out here representing the Titans, and representing Nashville. So I am going to do my best to make the city and the team proud."
TitansOnline.com looks back at TE Delanie Walker's 2015 season. (AP Photos)
Walker promises, however, not to be "that guy."
The annual all-star game isn't necessarily known for all-out play from beginning to end.
Walker plans to follow the lead of some of the Pro Bowl veterans. He also realizes the players on the winning team get some extra cash from the NFL as a reward.
"I am not going to be the guy everybody hates after the Pro Bowl, so we'll see how everybody else is playing,'' Walker said with a chuckle. "I am pretty sure the first three quarters might be, "We're going, but not really." But I think that fourth quarter is supposed to be turnt up, so in the fourth quarter you might see the D-Walker everyone is used to seeing come out."
