Ranking the Top 75 MLS Players of 2024: 63. Walker Zimmerman

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Walker Zimmerman has been the face of MLS center backs for the better part of a decade. He just completed his fifth season with Nashville SC and it was yet another good one. The team itself faltered and finished 13th in the East, but the 54 goals conceded is by no means the worst in the league and ranks above some playoff teams. Nashville's lack of attack killed them down the stretch, but Zimmerman continued to be the rock that the team so desperately needs.

Highlight wise, it's hard to pick out defensive highlights, though most fans of the league are certainly familiar with the presence Zimmerman brings to a team. His large frame and sneaky speed make him a difficult defender to get around. He scored one goal on the season during a 4-1 thrashing of Montreal, a header off a corner, as one would expect. Two matches later, he recorded his lone assist on a Shaq Moore match-winner after rising up like a salmon.

Zimmerman also went to the Paris Summer Olympics in the middle of the season as one of three overage players on the USMNT. He scored a goal against New Zealand, but the journey came to a crashing halt in a 4-0 loss to Morocco. His 2024 MLS stats were once again elite, as he intercepted two balls per 90 and won nearly three aerial duels per contest. He was one of the most accurate long ball playing central defenders in the league as well. Additionally, he did not begin a single dribble that he didn't successfully complete. Despite the rough season for Nashville, Zimmerman's individual performance slots him at No. 63.

63) WALKER ZIMMERMAN | DEF, NSH | PER 90 STATS (PERCENTILE)

58.6% LONG BALL ACCURACY (92%)

1.96 INTERCEPTIONS PER 90 (93%)

2.84 AERIAL DUELS WON PER 90 (88%)

100% DRIBBLE SUCCESS (100%)