An Akron cornerback who once walked away from football entirely before running a 4.38 at his pro day and landing a shot with the Falcons.
Malcolm DeWalt IV's path to the NFL is one of the more unlikely in this year's rookie class. A broken collarbone wiped out his senior year of high school recruiting buzz, and a stint at a junior college ended without ever playing a down, before he rebuilt his career at Akron and turned heads with elite pro-day speed.
Path to the league
DeWalt broke his collarbone as a senior running back and receiver at Olympic High School in Bremerton, Washington, which knocked him off the recruiting radar. He landed at Snow Community College in Utah but left without appearing in a game before eventually resuming his career at Akron.
Career highlights
DeWalt measured 6-foot-0 and a half inch, 190 pounds at his pro day, running a 4.38-second 40-yard dash with a 36-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot broad jump, numbers that helped him land a top-30 pre-draft visit with the Green Bay Packers despite going unselected in the 2026 NFL Draft.
2025 season recap
DeWalt's breakthrough came in his lone featured season at Akron in 2025, when he played mostly perimeter cornerback and recorded two interceptions, eight additional passes defensed, a forced fumble and 58 tackles.
Sources
- Green Bay Press-Gazette: Speedy Akron CB Malcolm DeWalt IV making pre-draft visit to Packers
- ESPN: Malcom DeWalt IV
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Cornerback
- Group
- defense
- College
- Akron
- Hometown
- Bremerton, WA, USA
- Age
- 24
- Status
- active
