The Unpacking Future Packers Countdown is a countdown of 100 prospects that could be selected by the Green Bay Packers in the 2022 NFL Draft.
The 2021 Georgia Bulldogs had one of the best defensive units in college football history. It was a defense that gave up just 10.2 points per game.
After dominating the competition on the field, the Bulldogs defense will dominate the first three rounds of the 2022 NFL Draft.
It’s a unit that will likely have eight players get drafted inside the Top 100 picks in the upcoming draft.
Quay Walker is one of those players. The Georgia linebacker checks in at No. 74 in the Unpacking Future Packers countdown.
A Georgia native, Walker arrived on campus as a four-star recruit. During his first year on campus, Walker earned the team’s Special Teams Newcomer of the Year award.
In 2019, Walker recorded 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. The following season he recorded two tackles for loss and one sack.
This past season marked Walker’s first year as a starter and he responded by recording 65 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and three pass deflections.
Walker has a unique blend of quickness and size. He’s built like an old-school linebacker (6-4, 245 pounds), but moves like a modern-day linebacker.
Walker was part of a linebacker corps that will have three players get selected in the NFL Draft. Nakobe Dean, Channing Tindall and Walker all run like deer. It will be interesting to see how Walker tests at the combine and Georgia’s pro day.
“It’s rare to see linebackers listed at 6’4″, 240 pounds who run and change directions like he does,” Ian Cummings, an NFL Draft analyst for Pro Football Network, said. “Aside from Walker, only Damone Clark and a couple of others have the same ability in this class. With his frame, Walker has great length and range, which he can use to traverse the field and seal off big plays. But he also has the strength to come up and fill gaps in run defense.”
Walker is a tone-setter against the run. He crashes through gaps with bad intentions to meet offensive linemen and running backs head-on.
The Georiga linebacker has the sideline-to-sideline quickness to shut down perimeter plays. He’s quick to read and react, flowing fast to shut down running angles.
“Walker absolutely plays up to his frame as a run blocker,” Cummings said. “With his explosiveness and length, he can close on plays quickly, and he has the physicality to burst into blocks and knock blockers off-center.
He has a fighting mentality when facing blocks, but he’s also fairly strong operationally in that phase. He takes good angles, and he knows how to establish half-man relationships on the outside. There are times when he over-pursues or gets drawn away from the play by misdirection, but overall, run defense is one of Walker’s strengths.”
Walker is light on his feet. He’s a modern-day three-down linebacker. He’s a fluid athlete that has the lateral agility and quickness to match up with running backs and tight ends in coverage.
Fit with the Packers
With his length, athleticism, and physicality, Walker is an enticing day two prospect.
He’s an absolute enforcer against the run and has all the tools to hold up in coverage against NFL running backs and tight ends.
“The projected versatility is especially exciting for me,” Cummings said. “Walker has great size and athleticism. While he can improve his efficiency of motion, I think he has the spry lateral burst and explosiveness to be a valuable chess piece in the middle of the field.
With his frame and natural strength, he also has some pass-rushing upside. He needs to add more precision as a pass rusher before he takes the next step there, but again, the explosiveness-length combination makes it all possible. That’s his max projection, but in the meantime, he provides a steady floor as a zone coverage linebacker and a run defender.”
The Packers could be losing All-Pro linebacker De’Vondre Campbell to free agency. If Campbell walks, Brian Gutekunst would be wise to get his hands on one of the linebackers that will go on day two of the upcoming draft.
Walker is a four-down linebacker. He plays violently against the run. He’s got the athleticism to hold up in coverage and he has a track record of being a special teams ace.
Even if Campbell is re-signed, Walker is a player that Gutekunst could target to pair with Campbell, while also giving special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia a hired gun.
