A Closer Look at Green Bay Packers OT Rasheed Walker
By Paul Bretl
Next up in our Green Bay Packers prospect deep dive is seventh-round pick Rasheed Walker, an offensive tackle from Penn State.
In this series, I am going through each Packers draft pick and, eventually, each UDFA signing, taking a closer look at each player. In these articles, I’ve discussed the team need, what role that prospect could fill in their rookie season, stats to know, and a few pre-draft reports from draft analysts.
If you’ve missed any of the previous in-depth looks, you can find them all below:
Green Bay Packers need at offensive tackle prior to the draft
Offensive tackle depth was a major need for the Green Bay Packers entering the draft. While once fully healthy, they will have David Bakhtiari and Elgton Jenkins as their starters, that isn’t the case right now, and at the time, Green Bay was one injury away from being in a tough spot.
For starters, we don’t know what the timeline is for Jenkins to return, but I’ll venture to say that he is going to miss some time this season. So that meant that prior to the draft, the only healthy offensive tackles on the Packers roster were Bakhtiari, Yosh Nijman, and maybe Cole Van Lanen–although Green Bay may view him more so as a guard.
If Nijman ends up as the starting right tackle come Week 1, we know that he is a capable starter with some assistance, but having not played right tackle since his final year at Virginia Tech and with barely over 600 career NFL snaps, he should still have to earn that starting position over the summer–not to mention we saw just last season how valuable reliable depth along the offensive line can be.
Rasheed Walker’s potential role as a rookie
As a seventh-round pick, there is no guarantee that Walker even makes the 53-man–he could very well end up on the practice squad depending on how the summer plays out. As I just described, the depth of the offensive line unit as a whole before the draft was a major concern, but now, many of those roster spots are accounted for.
Last season, the Packers kept nine offensive linemen on the 53-man roster, and as of now, we know that Bakhtiari, Nijman, Josh Myers, Jon Runyan, Royce Newman, Sean Rhyan, and Zach Tom will be on the initial roster, with perhaps one other spot going to Jenkins if he isn’t placed on the PUP list. So that is 7-8 spots already locked up.
If Walker does make the 53-man roster, he will be a backup–and even over the summer, with the right tackle position up for grabs until Jenkins returns, I see that battle being more so between Nijman and Rhyan with perhaps Tom taking some reps as well. As Dane Brugler of The Athletic ($$) wrote, Walker still needs to refine his game to be a “better-than-replaceable NFL starter.”
"“…he doesn’t play consistently under control and has a long list of bad habits and will require an influential offensive line coach in the NFL to develop his technique.”"
The good news is that the Green Bay Packers do have a very good and influential offensive line coach in Adam Stenavich. Walker possesses starting potential, but I don’t see that being the case in 2022. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see him take some snaps during training camp and the preseason at guard, either–we all know how important versatility along the offensive line is to Matt LaFleur. Once Jenkins returns, that final roster spot could come down to either Van Lanen or Walker.
Stats to know about Walker
Walker measures in at 6’5″ – 313 pounds and did not do any athletic testing during the pre-draft process. He was, however, one of several draft picks to come to Green Bay on an official pre-draft visit. Walker also was one of the Green Bay Packers’ best value selections–being taken at No. 249 overall while ranking as the 113th best prospect on Brugler’s top-300.
Walker was a starter at left tackle for the Nittany Lions during his final three seasons and totaled 2,081 career snaps, according to PFF ($$). This past season, Walker gave up four sacks and 26 pressures–which was the most of his career. As a run-blocker during the 2020 season, he would rank 58th out of 171 tackles in PFF’s run-blocking grade.
What the pre-draft reports say about Walker
Lance Zierlein – NFL.com
"“Walker possesses enticing power and measurables but has issues that could be challenging to correct if he stays at tackle,” wrote Zierlein. “Ohio State defenders were able to burn up his outside edge, which creates concern about his pass pro range, but it can be hard to beat his anchor with pure power. He has issues playing beyond his base, creating chronic over-extension that will be exploited by skilled NFL rush talent. He’s capable as a run blocker and should keep getting better with more hand work. Walker projects as a right tackle on the next level but might move inside to guard if his range and balance in pass sets aren’t up to par.”"
Brentley Weissman – The Draft Network
"“As a pass blocker, Walker shows very good foot quickness to get depth in his pass sets and mirror edge defenders,” said Weissman. “He can change direction quickly and redirect to stunts and inside counters. Walker displays excellent anchor and is very good with his hands, showing very good hand strength and punch timing. There are times Walker oversets and leaves room inside for counters and Walker will lose balance at times playing too far over his feet. In the run game, Walker is much more of a wall-off-and-seal blocker than a road grader.”"