All-NFC North Linebackers: Quay Walker on First Team

The Chicago Bears’ T.J. Edwards was the only unanimous selection while the Green Bay Packers’ Quay Walker finished second in voting for the All-NFC North team.

Green Bay Packers linebacker Quay Walker / Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers linebacker Quay Walker, the man in the middle of the team’s new-look defense, was one of three linebackers selected to SI.com’s All-NFC North Team.

All-NFC North voting was conducted by Bill Huber from Packers On SI, John Maakaron from Lions On SI, Gene Chamberlain from Bears On SI and Joe Nelson from Vikings On SI, who ranked their top four linebackers, with one point for the best player, two points for the second-best player and so on.

Seven players received at least one vote. The Chicago Bears’ T.J. Edwards was the only player selected on all four ballots and received two first-place votes to be the runaway winner. Walker and the Minnesota Vikings’ Ivan Pace were on three ballots, with Walker getting one second-place vote and finishing second in points.

Edwards’ sidekick, Tremaine Edmunds, received a first-place vote but was on only two ballots. Ditto for new Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman.

Here are the All-NFC North linebackers, with the capsules written by their respective beat writers.

T.J. Edwards, Chicago Bears

When the Bears signed Edwards, there was great discourse about which of the two key linebacker positions he’d play in a Tampa-2 style 4-3 scheme. Coach Matt Eberflus decided it was the weakside and it quickly became apparent the fit was right.

Edwards came within eight tackles of Roquan Smith’s single-season team record, and his three interceptions were one more than he made in his four years with the Eagles combined. With eight tackles for losses, Edwards showed he is the attacking linebacker the weakside position must be in this one-gap approach at the line of scrimmage. He even made career highs of 2 1/2 sacks and eight quarterback hits as the former University of Wisconsin star returned successfully to his hometown.

Edwards is definitely not a linebacker blessed with tremendous speed but at 6-foot-1, 242 pounds he can be a load to handle when charging downhill through a gap and is capable of more than the two forced fumbles and one recovery he had last season. Shaq Leonard had eight forced fumbles, four interceptions and three recovered fumbles in his last year as Eberflus’ weakside in Indianapolis. Anything for Edwards even approaching those numbers would be a tremendous success.

Quay Walker, Green Bay Packers

The top two linebackers in the 2022 NFL Draft class were Walker (No. 22 pick) and the Jaguars’ Devin Lloyd (No. 27 pick). Lloyd is first in the draft class with 242 tackles and Walker is second with 239. However, Walker has Lloyd beat in sacks (4-0) and tackles for losses (12-2).

Walker, however, always leaves you wanting just a little more. He went from seven passes defensed and three forced fumbles as a rookie to three passes defensed and zero forced fumbles last year and gave up far too many completions. He had one interception and dropped a couple others. Since so much analysis is stats-driven, the narrative might be different had he made those plays.

This will be a huge season for Walker. From a team perspective, the schematic change has Walker moving to middle linebacker, where he’ll be expected to lead the defense by word and deed. From a personal perspective, the team will have to decide on the fifth-year option at the end of the season.

Still, Walker is 24 and has two years of seasoning. Combined with a still-elite combination of size and athleticism, the arrow is pointing up. If he has a big-time season, the defense will put the team in the Super Bowl hunt.

Ivan Pace, Minnesota Vikings

Pace has a long way to go before he enters the same realm as Vikings greats who went undrafted, a la John Randle and Adam Thielen, but if his rookie season was any indication of things to come, the middle of Minnesota's defense is in good hands.

Pace, who is expected to wear the green dot and command the defense as a second-year linebacker in 2024, burst onto the scene in 2023 and finished as Pro Football Focus' 17th-ranked linebacker. He was especially good as a pass rusher, ranking 12th among all linebackers in PFF's pass rush grades. According to the official league stats, he had 97 tackles, 2.5 sacks, nine quarterback hits, one interception, one forced fumble and two pass breakups

According to PFF, no rookie linebacker had more pressures (15), sacks (3) and quarterback hurries (6). The only rookie linebacker with more QB hits than Pace (6) was Detroit's Jack Campbell (7).

Pace should be even better in his second season in defensive coordinator Brian Flores' scheme. And after starting only 11 of 17 games as a rookie, Pace will be an unquestioned starter every week, which should yield bigger numbers and more praise from his peers. 

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