Quay Walker

Quay Walker
refer to caption
Walker with Georgia in 2021
No. 7 – Green Bay Packers
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (2000-05-08) May 8, 2000 (age 24)
Cordele, Georgia, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:241 lb (109 kg)
Career information
High school:Crisp County (Cordele)
College:Georgia (2018–2021)
NFL draft:2022 / round: 1 / pick: 22
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 9, 2024
Total tackles:303
Sacks:5.5
Forced fumbles:3
Fumble recoveries:1
Pass deflections:10
Interceptions:1
Defensive touchdowns:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

JaQuavian Jy'Quese "Quay" Walker (born May 8, 2000) is an American professional football linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs and was selected by the Packers in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft.

Early life

Walker was born on May 8, 2000, in Cordele, Georgia. He attended Crisp County High School, where he had 109 tackles, eight sacks, and an interception as a junior.[1] Walker was rated a four-star recruit and initially committed to play college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide before his senior year in 2017, but changed to Georgia in early 2018.[2][3]

College career

Walker played in all 14 of Georgia's games during his freshman season and had six total tackles.[4] He saw increased playing time as a sophomore and finished the season with 23 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks.[5] Walker finished as Georgia's fourth-leading tackler with 43 in his junior season.[6][7]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 3+3⁄4 in
(1.92 m) 		241 lb
(109 kg) 		32+5⁄8 in
(0.83 m) 		9+1⁄4 in
(0.23 m)		 4.52 s 1.59 s 2.64 s 4.32 s 6.89 s 32.0 in
(0.81 m)		 10 ft 2 in
(3.10 m)		 23 reps
All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[8][9]

2022

Walker was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2022 NFL draft.[10][11] The Packers previously acquired the pick in a trade that sent Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders. On May 6, 2022, he signed his rookie contract.[12]

Walker was ejected in week 8 against the Buffalo Bills after an altercation with Bills' practice squad tight end Zach Davidson, following a play where Walker made a tackle on the Bills sideline.[13] In week 11, during a 40–33 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Walker scooped up a fumble forced by teammate Rudy Ford on Eagles wide receiver A. J. Brown and returned it 63 yards to put the Packers in scoring position.[14]

Walker was ejected a second time in week 18 against the Detroit Lions after shoving a member of the Lions medical staff, becoming the only player since the 2000 NFL season to be ejected more than once in a single season.[15]

Walker played all 17 games in his rookie campaign, finishing the season with a team-high 121 total tackles (75 solo, 46 assisted).[16] He also recorded a team-high three forced fumbles, as well as 1.5 sacks, five tackles for loss and one fumble recovery.[16] He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.[17]

2023

On September 10, 2023, during a 38–20 win over the Chicago Bears, Walker intercepted a pass from Justin Fields and returned it 37 yards for his first NFL touchdown.[18]

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Year Team GP GS Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
Total Solo Ast Sck SFTY PDef Int Yds Avg Lng TDs FF FR
2022 GB 17 16 121 75 46 1.5 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 3 1
2023 GB 14 14 118 59 59 2.5 0 3 1 37 37.0 37 1 0 0
Total 31 30 239 134 105 4.0 0 10 1 37 37 37.0 1 3 1
Source: pro-football-reference.com

Postseason

Year Team GP GS Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
Total Solo Ast Sck SFTY PDef Int Yds Avg Lng TDs FF FR
2023 GB 2 2 20 9 11 0.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Total 2 2 20 9 11 0.0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0
Source: pro-football-reference.com

References

  1. ^ "Crisp County linebacker commits to Alabama". WALB. June 8, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  2. ^ Smith, Cam (June 9, 2017). "Four-star Crisp County (Ga.) LB Quay Walker picks Alabama". USA TODAY High School Sports. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  3. ^ Zenitz, Matt (February 7, 2018). "Kirby Smart flips 4-star LB Quay Walker from Alabama". AL.com. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  4. ^ Towers, Chip (September 5, 2019). "Georgia's Quay Walker glad to move on from 'regretful' hat toss". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  5. ^ Spooner, Chris (May 14, 2020). "2021 NFL Draft: Meet Georgia Linebacker Quay Walker". Pro Football Network. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  6. ^ Weiszer, Marc (November 16, 2021). "Sideline to sideline, Georgia football inside linebackers relish sharing playmaking load". Athens Banner-Herald. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  7. ^ Rowe, Jake (September 22, 2021). "Quay Walker experiences 'pretty awesome' transformation at Georgia". 247Sports.com. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  8. ^ "Quay Walker Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". National Football League. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  9. ^ "2022 Draft Scout Quay Walker, Georgia NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  10. ^ "2022 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  11. ^ "2022 NFL Draft: Packers select Georgia LB Quay Walker in first round, No. 22 overall". Packers.com. April 28, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
  12. ^ "Packers sign seven draft picks". Packers.com. May 6, 2022. Archived from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  13. ^ Williams, Charean (October 31, 2022). "Quay Walker ejected for shove on Bills' sideline". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  14. ^ "Can't-Miss Play: Quay Walker goes 63 YARDS after picking up fumble forced by Rudy Ford". NFL.com. November 27, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  15. ^ Demovsky, Rob (January 9, 2023). "Ejected Packers LB apologizes for shoving trainer". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  16. ^ a b "Green Bay Packers 2022 Stats on ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  17. ^ "2022 NFL All-Rookie Team". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  18. ^ "Can't-Miss Play: Quay Walker's first NFL TD comes via pick-six vs. Fields". NFL.com. September 10, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
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