wpr;450452

I'm OFFENDED that you are offended!!!😁😜🤪

Wow....Sporting News does not like the pick...

22. Green Bay Packers (from Raiders): Quay Walker, LB, Georgia

Grade: D

This is another questionable first-rounder for the Packers, who were a bit handcuffed by the major wide receiver run in the top 18 picks. They did need some inside linebacker pop next to De’Vondre Campbell, but they reached big-time for Walker when more dynamic college teammate Nakobe Dean and better overall prospect Devin Lloyd were still available. They also could have “won” by pivoting to the strength at edge rusher, led by Florida State’s Jermaine Johnson. Walker can turn out to be a pretty good player, but he could have been had deep into Day 2. Brian Gutekunst nearly matches the Jordan Love pick with this one.

My comments:

• It remains to be seen whether Love is a bust....I don't think so.He just had not had a big body of work and there is no substitute for live reps.I would much rather have him than anyone in this draft and most in the last draft R E L A X
• My people at the U of G who happen to be die hard Packer fans think QW is really really good and can do whatever is asked
• I am not crazy about the Wonderlic
• Perhaps because of his excellent pass coverage numbers, he may be a unicorn of sorts who is especially valuable to the Packers.Now we will not have to play so much dime and be as susceptible to the run in those third down situations

1/22. Quay Walker, LB, Georgia (6, 8): Judging from their draft, the Packers were focused on reinforcing an offensive line threatened by the departures of Lucas Patrick, Dennis Kelly and Turner, the November reconstructive knee surgery for Jenkins and the uncertainty regarding Bakhtiari’s twice surgically-repaired knee.

The chances were excellent that if guard Zion Johnson or right tackle Trevor Penning had made it to No. 22, one of them would have been the Packers’ pick. The Chargers chose Johnson at No. 17 before the Saints took Penning at No. 19.

In the end, the Packers’ pick at No. 22 might have come down to inside linebacker Devin Lloyd, Devonte Wyatt or Walker.

Both Lloyd, who went No. 27 on a trade-up by the Jaguars, and Nakobe Dean (No. 83) finished well ahead of Walker in my linebacker poll of 17 scouts. A key factor in the vote was Dean’s preeminent ability to wear the green dot (direct the defense) and Lloyd’s generally perceived ability to do so. Evaluators didn’t regard Walker as a green-dot candidate, at least not early in his career.

Walker, a one-year starter on the loaded defense at Georgia, is the best run-and-hit linebacker in the draft. As the scouting cliché goes, he’s hostile, mobile and agile. He’s also big (6-3 ½, 242), fast (4.52) and strong. He can play the run at him or play it sideline-to-sideline, rates as a strong tackler and is a hard worker, too.

The teams that weren’t as high on Walker focused on what they regarded as his questionable instincts. When compared to Dean, his partner as a stack backer for the Bulldogs, Walker has a slow trigger. He must improve his feel for the game, reduce his number of false steps and react faster, both in coverage and against the run.

His score of 9 on the Wonderlic test obviously raised a red flag for teams. They tended to associate it with the hesitation in his play. One club that did extensive work on Walker cited his inexperience at the position (17 starts) and insisted that his ability to learning wouldn’t be a problem. He was able to outrun some of his late reactions in the college game but that certainly will be harder to do in the NFL.

One evaluator drew a comparison between Walker and three recent first-round picks: Buffalo’s Tremaine Edmunds (6-4 1/2, 251, 4.55, 22 Wonderlic), the No. 16 pick in 2018; Seattle’s Jordyn Brooks (6-0, 240, 4.52, 10 Wonderlic), the No. 27 pick in 2020, and Washington’s Jamin Davis (6-3 ½, 234, 4.47, 14 Wonderlic), the No. 19 pick in 2021.

Edmunds already has been to two Pro Bowls. After a so-so rookie season, Brooks led the NFL in solo tackles with 109 last season playing the weak side next to Mike linebacker Bobby Wagner. Davis started eight games on the weak side and had a rough rookie season.

Like the other three, Walker will need considerable refinement with the expectation that by his second or third season his performance level will take off. He’ll presumably replace third-year man Krys Barnes on the weak side opposite Campbell in the base and nickel defenses and the departed Henry Black in some subpackages, again next to Campbell. With Campbell making all the calls, Walker can just play.

Lloyd (6-3, 237, 4.68) doesn’t have Walker’s speed but tested better in the jumps and more than doubled his Wonderlic score (20). As the first-place finisher in my poll, Lloyd was more productive and instinctive than Walker.

Four picks after Walker, the Jets drafted edge rusher Jermaine Johnson. Two scouts indicated Johnson left them cold after the interview process, which accounted perhaps for why he lasted until No. 26.