The Green Bay Packers secured their highly sought after revenge on Sunday, trouncing the San Francisco 49ers by 28 points. The 49ers were down some key pieces, but that doesn’t completely diminish some standout performances from Packers players—most notably linebacker Quay Walker.
Walker easily had his best game of the season in Week 12, tallying seven tackles, one pass breakup, two pressures, and four stops classified as “failures” for the offense, according to Pro Football Focus.
Walker earned a defensive grade of 91.4 from PFF, the second-highest grade of his career. While PFF grades aren’t the ultimate authority on player evaluation, they painted an accurate picture of Walker’s impact against San Francisco.
What isn’t disputable is Walker’s tape from Sunday, which is what we’re looking at in this week’s film room.
Let’s begin.
Walker rushed the passer five times in Week 12, with two resulting in pressures. On this third-down blitz, Rashan Gary was credited with the sack, but Walker was disruptive nonetheless. Although a bit out of control, he penetrated the backfield, forcing the quarterback off his spot, and didn’t give up on the play after hitting the ground. Ultimately, Walker did his job and helped get the defense off the field.
As a former first-round draft pick, Walker is expected to make this play. But despite not being able to hold onto the interception, he did have excellent coverage. Deebo Samuel is running an in-breaker behind Walker to try to pick up a decent chunk on 2nd-and-15. Walker read the play perfectly, as he had great awareness of Samuel before reverting his eyes to the quarterback. Overall, it was still a good play that could have been a great play.
This is where Walker’s skill set shines. He’s a rangy linebacker capable of playing sideline to sideline. On this play, San Francisco tries to get Christian McCaffrey the ball in space on the edge, but Walker tracked him the entire way. He fought through the block and never lost sight of the ball carrier before closing in to make the tackle, preventing what could have been a big run.
Here, we see Walker’s athleticism and processing skills on display again. He beat the reaching blocker to the point of attack and kept his eyes on the running back. Once in position, Walker did a nice job of coming to balance to assist with the tackle.
In the past, we’ve seen Walker get too aggressive and run himself out of a play. This rep was a lot better, as he fills the cut-back lane, comes to balance, and keeps his leverage. Hopefully, this is a sign of growth from Walker.
This is why it’s so hard to give up on Walker. While Walker has had some disappointing stretches, his talent is undeniable. His play speed and range allow him to beat blockers to the point of attack and limit ball carriers to minimal gains or losses, as seen here. Walker also did a nice job swiping down on McCaffrey’s stiff arm to get the tackle.
Conclusion
It’s difficult to draw sweeping conclusions from this one because it was only one game. That said, it was definitely a step in the right direction and hopefully indicates Walker is finding his way in a new scheme.
What’s clear from the tape is that Walker is an extremely versatile linebacker. He’s arguably the best coverage linebacker on the team, though you would like him to capitalize on interception opportunities. He’s also an effective blitzer capable of creating havoc in passing situations. Those opportunities aren’t likely to disappear anytime soon.
As a run defender, Walker is at his best when he can stay clean and not have to deconstruct blocks. This can be difficult when offensive linemen are engaging him in confined spaces and not reaching out in space. While Walker may be best suited for WILL (weakside) linebacker, he’s currently the team’s top option at MIKE (middle) linebacker.
In the end, Walker may never be an All-Pro, but he is a solid starter you can win with at inside linebacker. For him to take the next step, being more consistent will be key.