Rasheed Walker had a lingering knee injury and saw a decline in play in his final year at Penn State before entering the draft. Still, the Green Bay Packers scooped him up in the seventh round in 2022, and he blossomed into a quality starter at left tackle.
Walker is set to enter the final year of his rookie deal, and uncertainty lingers around his contract extension. Esa Pole could be Green Bay’s next version of Walker.
Pole has a fascinating story. Washington State’s two-year starter at left tackle didn’t begin playing football until 2021, despite having an older brother who played four years at Washington State from 2011 to 2014.
Pole started at Chabot College, a JUCO school, before joining the Cougars. After just four years of organized football, Pole has a good chance to hear his name called at the draft.
Like Walker, Pole isn’t a highly touted prospect or projected to go anywhere early — or even towards the middle — of the draft. And like Walker, Pole doesn’t shy away from using his frame to negate defenders with relative ease.
Per Bleacher Report, Pole’s 6’5” frame is something he leans on to find means of success.
Pole wins as a run blocker using sheer size, length, and leg drive to wall off defenders on down blocks with enough burst to close space and cover up targets on pulls. He struggles to sustain due to clunky footwork and a bad habit of leaning into contact that saps his balance. In pass protection, Pole is a fluid mover who understands how to play long, keep rushers at his fingertips, and expand his set points to protect the corner.
Is Pole a project? Absolutely.
The good thing for the Packers is they wouldn’t need him to be a Day 1 starter.
Green Bay is in a peculiar spot with Walker. He has played well at left tackle, but Green Bay just forked over a massive deal to guard Aaron Banks in free agency, and right tackle Zach Tom is going to get top-of-the-market money. Despite protecting quarterback Jordan Love‘s blindside well, Walker could be the odd man out when it comes to paying the bills.
Enter Pole.
Addressing a potential problem before it becomes a major issue is just good policy. Nobody has exercised that mindset at quarterback more in the last three decades than the Packers. Pole would give the Packers another option if a deal with Walker doesn’t come together and Jordan Morgan doesn’t pan out at left tackle.
That’s a lot of “ifs,” but you can never be too sure when protecting your franchise quarterback’s blindside.
The fascination with Pole starts with the fact that he’s only played football for four years. How high can he rise? He’s far from a finished product, and the Packers are a franchise that can afford him time to get comfortable without having to take live-game reps at left tackle during the regular season in 2025.
Walker was a similar prospect in that there were unknowns, but he came from an injury and a temporary decline in play. The Packers still thought it was worth taking a flier on Walker because of his impressive display with the Nittany Lions. It paid off in a big way.
Maybe Pole doesn’t work out, and some analysts point out that the choppy footwork never improves. That’s possible. Is it not also possible that a team that has hit on multiple late-round tackles could find another hidden gem in Pole?
Tom was a fourth-round pick in 2022. Now he’s a borderline All-Pro. Walker was a seventh-rounder that same year. He’s now a solid starting left tackle. David Bakhtiari was the best in the business protecting Aaron Rodgers‘s blindside for years. He was a fourth-round pick in 2013.
Green Bay has repeatedly shown that it has a knack for drafting and developing tackles into studs. Pole could be the next hidden gem.
It shouldn’t be surprising that Green Bay used a top 30 visit on Pole. He’s a true tackle who doesn’t have the versatility Green Bay looks for in some of its offensive linemen. However, after seeing his play dramatically improve from 2023, having a relative athletic score of 7.30, and not allowing a sack in 2024, why not get him in for another look?
Walker was an afterthought who grew into Green Bay’s starting left tackle when injuries forced Bakhtiari out. Walker has far exceeded expectations. Bakhtiari did the same thing when he took over the gig early in his career.
Pole won’t be talked about on Thursday or Friday of the draft. He’ll likely still be on the board when the fifth round turns to the sixth. Given the uncertainty surrounding Green Bay’s contract extensions up front on the offensive line, Pole could be an insurance policy who turns into a solid starter over time.
He could be Green Bay’s next Rasheed Walker.
