2022 NFL Draft Player Profiles: Georgia LB Quay Walker

From now until the 2022 NFL Draft takes place, we hope to scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top 10 picks, all the way down to Day 3 selections and priority undrafted free agents. In this report I’ll be taking a look at the other Georgia linebacker.

#7 Quay Walker, ILB, Georgia (SR) — 6040e, 240 lbs.

Measurements

Senior Bowl

*e – estimated

 The Good

— Height/Weight/Speed guy
— Able to shed blocker and fill gaps
— Very good tackler, stops runners greatly limiting yards after contract
— Speed to go sideline to sideline
— Athletic enough to cover tight end and running backs in Man coverage
— Good awareness of receiver in Zone coverage
— Very good acceleration and timing as blitzer
— Good special teams experience

The Bad

— Diagnosing of plays is a work in progress
— Angles to the outside are inconsistent
— Doesn’t consistently run through the ball to use his size and speed when tackling
— Needs improvement with technique when setting the edge
— Raw in pass coverage overall
— Limited collegiate starting experience

Bio

— Games 52, 17 starts
— Career – 139 tackles, 81 solo, 11 TFL, 5 sacks, 3 pass breakups, 1 fumble recovery
— 2021 – 67 tackles, 39 solo, 5.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, 3 pass breakups, 1 fumble recovery, 25 QB pressures
— 2021 team captain for Auburn, Florida and Tennessee games
— Had 8 tackles and 6 QB pressures in the CFP Championship game vs Alabama
— selected to play in the 2018 Under Armour All-America Game
— Played basketball in high school
— Major: Business
— Senior Bowl Invitee

Tape Breakdown

The Georgia defense was dominant this year and their players will blanket the 2022 NFL draft. Walker could be considered a late bloomer with just one full year of starting experience. He is the epitome of the height/weight/speed prospect and I expect him to test very well at the Combine.

Walker is an off the ball linebacker who primarily lined up to the strong side of the offensive formation and was used in a rotation of linebackers. Against the run, he has solid mental processing and moves well laterally and through traffic. As he gained experience you could see his confidence grow with his improvement in play diagnosing. He has good acceleration coming downhill and is willing as gap filler. When taking on offensive lineman he uses his hands and length well to keep them at bay and he is solid at shedding blocks. On plays to the outside he scrapes well, with eyes in the backfield and has good speed to the sidelines. He has good change of direction and can get up to speed quickly. He is a very good tackler. When he makes a tackle, the play stops. He doesn’t get dragged or give up extra yards. When lined up on the edge in nickel defense he has solid hand placement when trying to set the edge.

Vs South Carolina, Walker (7) will show off his speed to the sideline chasing down the runner.

At Auburn, here he will scrape and fill and ends the run immediately.

Vs Alabama in the National Championship Game you can see the improved play diagnosis, speed to the ball and the quick stop.

Against the pass, he has good versatility. He has good mobility and gets solid depth in his Zone drops. He has good awareness of receivers through his zone and solid physicality to bump and redirect routes. He reads the quarterbacks eyes well, stays ready to move bouncing on his toes and has good acceleration to the ball. His size and length make it difficult to throw over him. He lined up often over the tight end in coverage and has the athleticism to carry a receiver up the seam. He was even used in the slot in a Press Man coverage look. He is solid reading and reacting to screens and uses his hands well versus blockers.

At Auburn, he is lined up in the near slot in a Press coverage look on the tight end. He plays a physical coverage and stays in phase but a stumble and not getting his head around allows the completion.

Vs Michigan, he is in coverage in the slot to the top and when the QB decides to scramble he come off his man to plant the QB.

As blitzer from the inside he showed good timing and very good acceleration to shoot through gaps and was used as a penetrator on cross dog blitzes. He has very good closing speed to get on the quarterback quickly. He was also used some on the edge in nickel packages and showed good burst off the line of scrimmage with solid bend to put pressure on the tackle up the arc.

Vs South Carolina, he uses good timing and acceleration on the blitz to get to the quarterback.

At Auburn, another example of a well-timed blitz to get the sack.

His mental processing is still a work in progress and is improving. Early in the season it took him a second to diagnose. His angles to the outside are inconsistent and shallow and need improvement. I would like to see him run through the ball more when tackling and use his size and speed to his advantage. When setting the edge on the outside he needs to work on his leverage and play strength to hold his ground. He is raw in pass Man pass coverage and needs to find the ball better. In Zone, he need to put himself in position to make more plays on the ball. He looked a bit uncomfortable in Man coverage.

Vs South Carolina, here is a sample of the diagnosis issue. This was early in the season and he improved greatly as the season progressed.

At Florida, here is a play to his right to the outside where his angle is a bit shallow and he is unable to get to the ball.

Conclusion

Overall, Walker has very good athleticism and is improving at processing plays. He can take on and shed blocks, has the speed to go sideline to sideline and stops runners in their tracks when making tackles. Has the athletic ability to play Zone or Man coverage and has the length to be trouble in passing lanes. His potential as a blitzer is top notch. He has the size to play the strong side or inside and the speed to play the weak side and let him chase the ball.

He is a ball of clay a far from a finished product but the potential is there to be a force. Give him a year to continue to improve in all phases and you’ll have a key player in the middle of the defense. He may be best starting out as a WILL linebacker and using his athleticism. I see him with the potential to be a starting linebacker in the middle of any defense.

I have been wanted a linebacker line this for the Steelers for the past few years and have been hoping to get one with his size, speed and potential. Guys like Jamin Davis, Logan Wilson, Malik Harrison, Justin Hollins and Darius Leonard were all guys I liked to in past years. Walker is a bit raw but he could be molded into a blitzing BUCK linebacker a la Vince Williams that the Steelers are missing. In what could be a “reload” year, he could be an intriguing option to add size and speed to the defense.

Projection: Late Day 2

Depot Draft Grade: 8.1 Future Quality Starter (2nd Round)

Games Watched: 2021 – vs South Carolina, At Auburn, At Florida, vs Michigan, vs Alabama