Player: Quay Walker

School: Georgia

Height and Weight: 6’4”, 241

Combine Results:

• 40: 4.52
• Bench: DNP
• Broad Jump: 10’2”
• Vertical Jump: 32”
• 3 Cone: DNP
• Other Notes: Walker did not participate in every test at the combine and in the three events he did do, the results were mixed. The big takeaway from his test numbers is his 4.5 40 yard dash. Not even I could’ve told you he would run that. That is a really solid time for a linebacker of his size. In the on field workouts, Walker looked really good. He had a lot of question marks heading in about his hips fluidity and his clunky movements, but I thought he looked smooth going through the drills. 

Strengths: Pass coverage/playing in space, strength and physicality, solid tackler

Weaknesses: Tendency to “bounce around” where he is standing/slightly hesitant at times, blitzing

Projected Draft Day: Day 1/Early Day 2

Player Comparison: Tremaine Edmunds

Player Summary: Walker is a big, strong, powerful linebacker that is incredibly good in coverage and in space. He is an assignment driven football player that knows where he needs to be in zone and plays a nice bump and run style of man coverage. Usually you think these bigger guys would be better in the box against the run, but it seems like his skills in space blow out his ability against the run. Walker has what seems to be great speed for a backer of his size, and unbelievable control of his motions in space.

Walker comes from a blitz heavy defensive scheme at Georgia, but doesn’t seem to be the best blitzer. From what I saw it seems like it partly has to do with his tendency to hesitate, but it’s certainly something that can be worked on. He also seems pretty inconsistent when it comes to block shedding, he has times where he gets tied up and others where he throws blockers around. He needs to be more consistent because he clearly has the potential. If Walker can find more consistency in his block shedding, Walker could become a force in the box as a top run stuffer as well as blitzer. Walker needs to realize even at his size he probably won’t be able to run through many people at the pro level.

Walker also comes from a Georgia defense in which they had a 3 man rotation, so Walker was not an every down backer like Dean was. I think Walker can handle a three-down role; however, I feel as though there isn’t enough tape of him against the run to make a judgment about his ability to stop the run. Overall, Walker is a nice combination of being ready to play and future potential. If Walker can unlock his full potential I could see him being the  best backer of the class and maybe one of the best  in the league.

I compared him to Edmunds because they are both bigger linebackers who are great in space. If you watch Edmunds closely you will notice that he has the same tendency to bounce around where he is standing or hesitate much like Walker. Although Edmunds may not be considered elite, he is a top notch linebacker in the league and I think that Walker at the very least could live up to the type of career he is having.