It can’t get worse than this.
The Green Bay Packers took Quay Walker 22nd-overall in 2022, and his play at linebacker is about as bad as it gets. Green Bay’s win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday highlighted much of what has plagued the third-year player out of Georgia.
Walker’s stat line from the last game doesn’t look that bad, but there are many concerning issues beneath the stats. He ended the game with eight tackles, bringing his season total to 72. Walker leads the team despite missing the Jacksonville Jaguars game with an injury.
PFF gave Walker a 62.6 grade against the Bears, which is average. Still, it’s hard to understand where that comes from after watching the tape.
The Bears game was a microcosm of what has plagued Walker all season. Walker’s issues come down to three main things:
- Inability to tackle
- Inability to read and react to plays
- Overcommitting and taking himself out of plays
Here is a compilation that showcases some of these issues:
On the first play, Walker is sitting in the hole, a linebacker’s dream. He’s in position to get a free shot on D’Andre Swift and stop Chicago’s running back from making it into the end zone.
Instead, Walker, who’s 6’4”, 240 lbs., decides to tackle the 5’8” running back at the shoulders with his chest and arms instead of breaking down and using his immense physical talent to drive the runner backward at his hips. The way Walker tried to tackle Swift on this goal-line play is not a technique that any coach at any level has taught tackling.
In the second play, Walker can fill the gap and is in the perfect position to take down Swift for a loss or a minimal gain. However, Walker hesitates. Instead of having the instinct to tackle him, he allows Swift to shimmy away from Walker’s arm-tackle-flop thing. Good read, but lousy tackling — again.
It could be a mental issue for Walker because the third play is one of the most inexplicable things I’ve ever seen from an NFL player. Walker is playing as a spy on rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. That means that Walker’s first responsibility is to keep Williams from running. On a pivotal fourth down against a mobile quarterback, having an incredibly athletic linebacker spy the quarterback makes sense.
If Walker determines the best way to stop him from running is to take him down, he can do that at any point. That’s what happens when Walker goes to take him down. Only he doesn’t. Once again, he hesitates and cannot make a decisive play. Williams uses that window of opportunity to escape and convert. Walker had an opportunity to make a game-changing play and stopped his feet.
The final play is another short-yardage situation. Walker overcommitted to Williams’ path instead of moving directly toward him. That put Walker out of position, and Williams slid for the first down.
There were more plays like this one in which Walker failed to make the correct read or made it too late and was only there to make cleanup tackles.
Walker is a uniquely gifted athlete. That’s always been evident and one of the main reasons the Packers drafted him.
But even with superior physical tools, Walker must improve his football IQ.
You can’t blame the system, either. Jeff Hafley brought in a new system, but Walker’s play has not improved. It’s just more of the same from him. From Walker’s vantage point, he’s in a better position to make plays than last season, and what we’ve seen is not encouraging. New system, same result.
The Packers’ refusal to bench him makes even less sense when you consider the players they have at linebacker. Veteran Eric Wilson and rookie Edgerrin Cooper continue to be impressive. Wilson has been a playmaker whenever he’s been in the game. While Cooper has made rookie mistakes, he’s also a playmaker.
The Packers also have Ty’Ron Hopper, another rookie linebacker they drafted in the third round. If the Packers are going to watch Walker do the same thing every week and not try to change it up, why even have Hopper on the roster?
Walker is a fine player on paper. Still, the devil is in the details, and the Packers’ decision not to bench him makes no sense. Walker has forced Green Bay’s hand with his play, and it’s time for them to find another solution.
All stats and data via ESPN, PFF, and Green Bay Packers unless otherwise noted.
