The Green Bay Packers hold eight picks heading into the 2025 NFL Draft, but general manager Brian Gutekunst is likely itching for more. The draft board is deep in certain areas, and with several roster holes to fill, Gutekunst may need to get creative to maximize his chances of addressing them all.
The Packers currently own one pick in each of the first seven rounds, plus a compensatory pick in the seventh. That’s a solid starting point—but for a team with playoff ambitions and needs across the board, it might not be enough.
Wide receiver, offensive line, defensive end, defensive tackle, and cornerback all stand out as positions that need attention. If Green Bay wants to touch on all those spots and add meaningful depth, they’ll need more swings at the plate.
One option could be moving on from a former first-round pick who hasn’t quite lived up to expectations: linebacker Quay Walker.
Packers Should Dangle Quay Walker in Trade Talks Before Draft
Walker was taken 22nd overall in the 2022 NFL Draft—a head-scratcher at the time, considering it was a non-premium position and Walker entered the league with some serious question marks about his instincts and processing.
Physically, he’s the prototype. He posted a 9.63 Relative Athletic Score, including a 4.52-second 40-yard dash—elite speed for a linebacker. On paper, he looked like a future sideline-to-sideline menace. But three seasons in, the results haven’t matched the résumé.
Walker consistently misdiagnoses run fits and too often shoots the wrong gap or overruns the play entirely. For a player with his athletic tools, he's been a frustrating enigma—like a sports car with no GPS. The flashes are there, but consistency is missing, and improvement has been minimal since his rookie year.
The Packers do have a fifth-year option on his rookie contract, as they do with fellow 2022 first-rounder Devonte Wyatt. But picking up Walker’s would cost roughly $14.7 million for 2026—a hefty tab for a player who hasn’t earned it. More than likely, Green Bay will decline the option, making 2025 a contract year.
And that’s why now is the perfect time to trade him.
Green Bay isn’t particularly deep at linebacker, but they’ve built up enough internal options to absorb the loss. Edgerrin Cooper, their 2024 second-round pick, looks like a star in the making. Isaiah McDuffie returns as a solid depth piece, and 2024 third-rounder Ty’Ron Hopper adds another young body to the mix.
On top of that, Green Bay just hosted free agent Isaiah Simmons, a former top-10 pick and hybrid defender who could provide special teams value and emergency depth. Add in players like Javon Bullard and Nate Hobbs, who can rotate down into the box, and the Packers have ways to cover themselves.
Walker won’t fetch a first-rounder in return, but a fourth- or fifth-round pick isn’t out of the question. That’s more valuable than letting him play out a contract year and walk away for nothing more than a potential compensatory pick in 2027.
Sometimes, cutting bait early is just smart business. The Packers misfired with the Walker pick—but that doesn’t mean they can’t turn it into a win now. The sooner they act, the more they can control the return—and help reshape the roster for another playoff push.