On paper, the Green Bay Packers defense has a plethora of talent. This season, there is a chance that defensive coordinator Joe Barry will have eight former first-round picks at his disposal. However, even with so much talent, the Green Bay Packers defense is missing something. That something is an edge, a toughness, something or someone who scares opposing offenses. But they might have found it, in 2022 first-round pick Quay Walker.
Quay Walker Could Bring a Missing Edge to the Green Bay Packers Defense
When looking back at how good the Green Bay Packers were in the 1990’s the first thing that comes to mind is their offense. Led by Brett Favre and coached by Mike Holmgren, the Packers offenses of the 1990s were some of the best of that era. But honestly, that unit wasn’t even the best part of that team.
There is no doubt that the 1990s Packers wouldn’t have been as successful as they were without the play of their defense. Coordinated by Fritz Shurmur, the defense included Hall of Famers Reggie White and LeRoy Butler. Santana Dotson, Gilbert Brown Sean Jones, and Eugene Robinson were also a part of that defense. But what made that defense even better was the presence of linebacker Wayne Simmons.
While Simmons is the forgotten member of that defense, he was a very big part of it. Simmons was a menace to opposing tight ends. Shurmur frequently assigned Simmons to stop opposing tight ends in the passing game and that is what he did. But the biggest factor Simmons brought to the defense is that he scared the living bejesus out of opposing players.
The fear that Simmons created gave the Packers defense an edge. The talent was there, but the Simmons “factor” brought them to a whole nother level. That factor is something that has been missing on the Packers defense, for a long time. But Quay Walker might be the person to change that. Not only does he have the talent to be a standout, but he just might have the personality to give the Packers defense that little edge.
Toughness Not Stupidity
Last season, Quay Walker made two of the dumbest penalties that Packers fans have ever seen out of a Packer. Walker was ejected twice last season. The first was against Buffalo Bills when he shoved a person in street clothes on the Bills sideline which led to his ejection.
But while that was one of the dumbest penalties to be seen by Packers fans, Walker would go on to top that later on in the season. Against the Detroit Lions, Walker shoved a member of the Lions medical staff who ran onto the field to check on a fallen Lions player. Not only was it stupid, but it hurt the Packers chances of winning that game.
There is no defending Walker’s actions for those two incidents. However, one glimmer of hope did come from that. That hope is that Walker isn’t your cookie-cutter inside linebacker. He isn’t a robot, similar to former Packer inside linebackers Blake Martinez and AJ Hawk, but a player that shows emotion. Shoving nonplayers doesn’t make you tough. But it does show that you have a little edginess to your play.
If Walker can learn to reel in those emotions and use them in a way that can help give the Packers an edge, it would be quite an asset.
A Talented Inside Linebacker
Wayne Simmons was a solid Green Bay Packer. He was given a job to do and he did it very well. But there is a huge difference when it comes to talent when comparing Simmons to Quay Walker.
While both are former first-round picks of the Packers, Quay Walker has been blessed with more athletic ability than the late Wayne Simmons. At 6’4″ and weighing 240 pounds, prior to being drafted by the Packers, he ran a 4.52 in the forty-yard dash. That is the type of speed you would expect out of some wide receivers. Walker is coming off a strong rookie campaign which saw him 75 solo tackles, forced three fumbles, register one and a half sacks, and recovered one fumble. He did this while still learning how to play inside linebacker in the NFL.
The sky is the limit for Walker. If he can create the edginess we think he can, to go along with his talent, he might be one of the best to ever play linebacker for the Packers.
Main Photo: Dan Powers/USA TODAY
