Saturday Blitz
Fansided

2022 NFL Draft: Grading Packers’ No. 22 pick of Quay Walker

By Rowan Fisher-Shotton

ATHENS, GA - SEPTEMBER 18: Quay Walker #7 sacks Luke Doty #4 but grabs the facemask before a game between South Carolina Gamecocks and Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium on September 18, 2021 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Steven Limentani/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
ATHENS, GA - SEPTEMBER 18: Quay Walker #7 sacks Luke Doty #4 but grabs the facemask before a game between South Carolina Gamecocks and Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium on September 18, 2021 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Steven Limentani/ISI Photos/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

After months of speculation as to what the Green Bay Packers will do in the 2022 NFL Draft. The No. 22 pick is finally in!

Following the Davante Adams news weeks ago, many assumed that the Green Bay Packers would go with a wide receiver in the 2022 NFL Draft. Although, after watching all six of the top receivers fly off the board early, the Packers were forced to look elsewhere.

Luckily, a key member of the CFB National Champion Georgia Bulldogs was still available in linebacker Quay Walker.

Despite not garnering nearly as much attention as his teammate Nakobe Dean or Utah’s Devin Lloyd, Quay Walker is still an absolute freak of nature and an incredible talent with extremely high upside.

He’s fast, he hits hard, and he’s one of the more consistent tacklers in college football. What’s not to love?

After not cracking the starting rotation in Athens up until 2020, Walker became one of the more explosive linebackers in CFB over the last two seasons.

In 2020, Walker played a total of 334 snaps and recorded 43 tackles, 19 total stops, and one sack. Before breaking out in 2021, putting together 63 tackles, 5.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks, 25 QB pressures, and 3 pass breakups.

He was also the best tackler on a championship-winning Georgia defense last season, having missed only 3 tackles all year in 15 games played. Highlighted by his performance in the National Championship game against Alabama, in which he recorded a team-high 8 total tackles.

Walker also showed off his elite athleticism at the NFL Combine, walking away with the fourth-fastest 40-yard dash time among linebackers (4.52). All the while being 6’4″ and over 240 pounds.

While I’m sure Green Bay Packers fans were eager to see the team provide Rodgers with more weapons at this point in the draft. The team is also in desperate need of more speed and explosion at the linebacker position, which is precisely what Walker brings to the table.

So, it’s not an awful pick considering who was left on the board and the potential Quay Walker has to become an elite run stopper in the NFL.

Draft Grade: B

Home/College Football News