After a heartbreaking loss to the rival Chicago Bears in the Wild Card Round, the Green Bay Packers have spent the early weeks of their offseason dealing with the coaching staff. While there were rumblings that head coach Matt LaFleur could be let go, he ultimately received a contract extension, as did GM Brian Gutekunst and Executive Vice President/Director of Football Operations Russ Ball.
And, of course, there was the matter of finding a replacement for defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, who became the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, which turned out to be former Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon.
With the coaching staff now in place, the full focus now becomes the roster, and the Packers certainly have plenty of decisions to make in that regard, as they have nearly 25 players set to enter some sort of free agency, one of whom is linebacker Quay Walker.
Green Bay, of course, chose not to exercise the 2022 first-rounder's fifth-year option last year, and while Gutekunst expressed his desire to come to terms on a long-term extension last summer, that obviously didn't happen.
And Walker certainly didn't play his best football in what turned out to be a contract year, as his overall PFF mark of 48.5 ranked 74th among 88 eligible linebackers, his 62.0 pass-rush grade ranked 49th, his 54.5 run-defense grade ranked 74th, and his 44.9 coverage grade ranked 70th. So, the Packers could easily decide to move on and just let him walk out the door.
And if they do, there will be an option out there to replace him, and one with ties to Gannon at that, that option being none other than Walker's former Georgia teammate, Nakobe Dean.
The Packers could replace Quay Walker with his former teammate
Before serving as the Cardinals' head coach, of course, Gannon spent two seasons as the Eagles' defensive coordinator. And one of the players who was drafted under his watch was Dean, who was taken in the third round of the 2022 draft with the 83rd overall pick.
A unanimous All-American and the Butkus Award winner in his final season with the Bulldogs, Dean has dealt with some injury issues, missing a dozen games in 2023 and another seven this past year. So, that's undoubtedly a concern.
When healthy, however, the Mississippi native is fantastic.
A season ago, in helping the Eagles to a Super Bowl title, Dean's 75.3 overall PFF grade ranked 12th among 83 qualifying linebackers, with his 82.5 pass-rush grade ranking eighth and his 80.4 run-defense mark ranking 16th.
As mentioned, he had some injury issues this past year, so he wasn't quite as menacing. Nevertheless, he still recorded a career-high 4.0 sacks, and his 92.3 pass-rush grade ranked third among all linebackers. So, he'd be able to help with the Packers' pass-rush attack in 2026, which will certainly need some assistance, as Micah Parsons is expected to miss a chunk of the season as he continues to recover from a torn ACL.
Not only is Dean a better pass-rusher than Walker, but he's also better in coverage. And given the way Gannon operates his defense, Dean is simply a better fit. And he shouldn't be as expensive as some might think, as Spotrac currently projects his next contract to be a four-year deal worth $31.59 million. It would likely be more, but with the aforementioned injury concerns, that figure seems reasonable enough.
Dean will undoubtedly have several suitors, likely including the Eagles themselves, but this is an option the Packers should certainly consider.