With nearly 25 players set to enter free agency in one way or another, the Green Bay Packers certainly have plenty of decisions to make before the 2026 League Year officially begins at 4:00 p.m. Eastern on March 11.
And one of those decisions will be whether to attempt to bring back linebacker Quay Walker, who's been a solid player for the Packers over the past four years but has never quite lived up to his first-round draft status, which is likely why Green Bay opted not to exercise the fifth-year option on his rookie contract a year ago at this time.
General manager Brian Gutekunst discussed his desire to sign the Georgia alum to a long-term extension last summer, but nothing obviously came of it.
At this point, the likelihood of Walker wearing the Green & Gold in 2026 and beyond seems fairly low, which means the Packers will need to fill his spot alongside rising star Edgerrin Cooper. And ESPN's Aaron Schatz believes that player could very well be Walker's former college teammate, Nakobe Dean.
ESPN names Nakobe Dean as a possible free agent for the Packers to pursue
Schatz recently suggested one free agent for each of the 32 teams to pursue, and his choice for Green Bay was Dean, who was taken by the Philadelphia Eagles 61 picks after Walker in the 2022 draft.
"The Packers are probably going to let linebacker Quay Walker leave after they declined his fifth-year option," Schatz wrote, "which means they need an option to play next to Edgerrin Cooper. Dean is still only 25 years old and arguably stronger than Walker in pass coverage. Dean had four sacks, two forced fumbles, and 55 total tackles last season."
One member of the Packers' organization who would likely be on board with signing Dean is new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who was the DC in Philly when the Eagles took the former Bulldog at No. 83 overall.
The big concern with bringing Dean in would be his injury history, as he missed 12 games during the 2023 campaign with foot issues and another seven this past year after tearing the patellar tendon in his left knee tackling none other than Tucker Kraft in the Eagles' wild-card win over Green Bay in last year's playoffs.
When healthy, however, the 2021 Butkus Award winner is an absolute menace. Before his injury, Dean's 75.3 overall PFF grade during the 2024 season ranked 12th among 83 qualifying linebackers, with his 82.5 pass-rush grade ranking eighth and his 80.4 run-defense mark ranking 16th.
His run defense wasn't nearly as strong in the 11 overall games in which he appeared this past season, but his 92.3 pass-rush grade ranked third among all linebackers. And as Schatz mentioned, he was far better in pass coverage than Walker, ranking 30th among 88 eligible linebackers in that regard with a 62.0 mark, while Walker's 44.9 mark ranked 70th.
Furthermore, the Packers are likely to save a little money, as Dean is projected to receive $7.9 million per season on his next contract, while Walker's market value currently sits at $8.3 million per year. So, expect Green Bay to give Dean a good look in the near future.