Walker Braaten is a rangy, redshirt freshman safety with playmaking upside for NDSU
Braaten brings rare size for a safety at 6-3 and 190 pounds, plus a proven two-way athletic background from Westhope where he was a three-time all-state standout and the 2024 North Dakota 9-man Senior Athlete of the Year. In his 2025 redshirt season, he appeared in one non-conference game and logged two tackles, then flashed in 2026 by intercepting Fordham in NDSU’s 38-0 shutout. Why care? He looks like a high-ceiling, physical depth piece who can grow into a matchup problem in coverage and a tone-setting special-teams defender if his development keeps tracking upward.
