Big Matchup: Packers’ Rasheed Walker vs. Cowboys’ Micah Parsons

Teammates at Penn State, Packers left tackle Rasheed Walker and Cowboys defender Micah Parsons will battle in Sunday's wild-card playoff game.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – At Penn State, Rasheed Walker got plenty of opportunities to block Micah Parsons.

“We used to do one-on-ones against each other,” Walker said this week. “Sometimes, we’d have good-on-good team periods and go against each other.”

In a critical individual matchup, Walker, the Green Bay Packers’ surprising left tackle, will have to block Parsons, the Dallas Cowboys’ indomitable defender, in Sunday’s NFC wild-card playoff game.

“Just got to block him. Just got to block everybody,” Walker said.

It won’t be Walker vs. Parsons for 60 snaps on Sunday because Parsons is moved all around the defense by Cowboys coordinator Dan Quinn.

Parsons’ snap count at Pro Football Focus is pretty wild. He’s played 550 snaps at right outside linebacker, where he’d face Walker, and 301 snaps at left outside linebacker. He’s also played 195 snaps in the box as an off-the-ball linebacker.

From that perspective, never mind the game-wrecking ability perspective, the Packers haven’t faced anyone like Parsons.

“They kind of remind me of how they used to use Jadeveon Clowney with the Texans, where they’d play him off the ball, move him around and just try to create as many mismatches as they could,” offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said. “They do a great job just putting him in different spots, making you just always be aware of where he’s at. He’s obviously a matchup problem, so you’ve got to make sure you always know where he is and have an answer.”

Walker has been one of the surprises of the team. He entered training camp as the No. 4 offensive tackle behind veteran left tackle David Bakhtiari, second-year right tackle Zach Tom and experienced Yosh Nijman.

Instead, Bakhtiari was shut down after Week 1 and Walker has started the last 16 consecutive games.

His improvement has been “all around,” he said.

“The thing is, the improvements that I made, they’re really just subtle improvements – little things that helped my game a lot,” Walker said. “I don’t even think I played that bad early in the season. I’ve been playing better with more time and experience.”

Parsons was the 12th pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. He had 13 sacks as a rookie, 13.5 sacks in 2022 and 14 sacks in 2023. His three-season totals are 40.5 sacks, 51 tackles for losses and seven forced fumbles.

“Micah’s a freak show, a game-wrecker and you better know where he’s at,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “They do such a great job of moving him around. He can line up on the edge, he can line up at linebacker, at the three-technique, at the shade. They use multiple personnel groupings, so they do a really good job of scheming you up and trying to create one-on-ones for him, especially in those pass-rush situations.”

In 2023, he led the NFL with 103 pressures, according to PFF. By its pass-rushing productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-rushing snap, he was the best pass-rusher in the NFL. He trailed only Cleveland’s Myles Garrett by its pass-rush win rate.

“Hopefully, it's phenomenal,” he said of his postseason. “Not even hopefully. I'm going to be phenomenal. I’m going to be phenomenal, f***ing phenomenal.”

Standing in his way – at least some of the time – will be Walker, the 250th pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. His rookie experience consisted of four snaps on special teams. He allowed six sacks in the regular season, with the one given up against the Bears breaking a three-game streak in which his man never so much as laid a finger on quarterback Jordan Love.

Of 57 offensive tackles to play at least 50 percent of the pass-blocking snaps, Walker finished 39th in PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per pass-protecting play.

Will he be nervous before his first NFL postseason start while having to face one of the best defenders in the league?

“I try to stay level-headed throughout the whole day,” he said. “The night before, I’m a little bit more loose but, during the day, I try to exert the least amount of energy as possible until kickoff. Literally, I try not to exert any energy on gameday.

“I feel like I’m good at controlling my emotions. Everybody has some nerves but, at the end of the day, you’ve got to stay focused. It’s you out there. I’m the one out there doing it. I have to do my job so I can’t be nervous and playing slow. I’ve got to be confident.”

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