Packers receive strong grade for first-round draft pick Quay Walker
Death, taxes, and the Green Bay Packers going defense in the first round of the draft.
Packers fans will be frustrated that the pick wasn’t a wide receiver, but general manager Brian Gutekunst made the right call not to reach for a pass-catcher with the top options gone.
Instead, he focused on adding a talented player on defense, and they found one with Georgia inside linebacker Quay Walker.
B+. . ILB. Green Bay Packers. QUAY WALKER
This is such a Packers selection, and that’s a good thing.
Gutekunst loves to draft phenomenal athletes. Walker is that. He has a Relative Athletic Score of 9.63 out of 10. He also has great size at 6-foot-4, 241 pounds.
Gutekunst also tends to draft younger players in the first round. Walker will turn 22 next month.
Green Bay drafted a Georgia defender on Day 1 last year with Eric Stokes and that worked out well. This pick could also turn out to be a good one.
NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah wrote that “Walker is a size/speed, run-and-hit linebacker with his best football still ahead of him.”
The Packers are getting a three-down linebacker in Walker.
He will help in run defense, but he is also excellent in coverage. According to Pro Football Focus, Walker allowed zero touchdowns in 548 career coverage snaps.
Remember when the Packers didn’t value the inside linebacker position? It often cost them, either in run defense or with receivers and tight ends getting open in the middle of the field.
This offseason, they paid De’Vondre Campbell after his All-Pro season. Now they get him a partner in the middle of the field. Ben Fennell of NFL Network sees similarities between Walker and Campbell.
A decent comp/style for Quay Walker (6036 241 4.52) is actually De'Vondre Campbell (6'4 232 4.58) IMO
— Ben Fennell (@BenFennell_NFL) April 29, 2022
Quay Walker also has 550 special teams snaps in his UGA career too - this guy is a walking H/W/S hitting machine...
Green Bay often plays with just one inside linebacker on the field, but last season, Krys Barnes was on the field for around half of the defensive snaps. Walker could take on Barnes’ role.
And it wouldn’t be surprising if Joe Barry keeps two linebackers on the field more often.
Yes, the wait for a wide receiver goes on, but the Packers have made an excellent pick with Quay Walker.