Packers Select Penn State OT Rasheed Walker With Third of Seventh-Round Picks

Rasheed Walker, the third lineman picked by the Packers, started 32 games at left tackle the last three seasons for Penn State.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – For the third consecutive year, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst has drafted three offensive linemen.

With the third of the team’s four seventh-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, No. 249 overall, the Packers selected Penn State offensive tackle Rasheed Walker on Saturday. Walker was projected as a potential third-round draft pick so, based on media draft boards, Walker provides great value this late in the draft.

Here’s Walker’s story.

Measureables: 6-5 5/8, 313. 33 5/8 arms. He decided to not go through physical testing.

Analytical stats: Walker started 32 games at left tackle the last three seasons. In PFF’s pass-blocking efficiency, he ranked 56th and allowed four sacks. Moreover, backs gained 1.1 yards before contact on runs to his gap, easily the worst of SIS’s top 24 tackle prospects. In three of his four seasons, that number was less than 2.0 yards. He and Mississippi State's Charles Cross had the highest blown-block percentages, too. He’s a boom-or-bust player, NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah said.

Personal touch: At age 8, Walker wore a size-10.5 shoe. Many weekends, he was deemed too big to play in the Pop Warner games. “I had several coaches look at Rasheed, point to him and say, ‘Look at your boy. Look at his hands. Look at his feet. He’s too big for my boys to move. He cannot play,’” his father, Alfred, told The Athletic. “Rasheed would stand there and he would cry.”

While he never fought in a match, Walker took up boxing as a kid. "I was always tripping over my feet. But I started boxing and I really noticed a difference with my balance and footwork,” Walker told Penn Live.

Athleticism and footwork, not production, will get him into the NFL. “That’s really a big part of my game, my athletic capabilities,” Walker said at the Combine. “I feel like I’m one of the most athletic guys in this draft. I can say that with confidence. ... Y’all will see.” He writes with his left hand but throws with his right. “One of my biggest strong suits is my mentality and my competitive spirit,” Walker said. “I’m going to go out and compete, give my all every play and every game.”

NFL Draft Bible Scouting Report: Walker has all the talent in the world to end up as a franchise left tackle in the NFL. He has displayed really good film as a redshirt freshman and redshirt sophomore. He has excellent size and long arms. His footwork is so natural in pass protection, and all of his natural traits show a player who can be elite in that area. His run blocking is fantastic as well. At his best in the run game, Walker can easily put defenders in the dirt or create holes for ball carriers to run through. He just isn’t consistent enough at this point.

The Packers are scheduled to make one more pick, No. 258 overall.

The 2022 NFL Draft

No. 234: Miami DT Jonathan Ford

No. 228: Georgia Tech S Tariq Carpenter

No. 179: South Carolina edge Kingsley Enagbare

No. 140: Wake Forest OL Zach Tom

No. 132: Nevada WR Romeo Doubs

Day 2 NFL Draft grades

Packers have picked four elite athletes

No. 92: UCLA OL Sean Rhyan

Great talent, great expectations, great challenges for Christian Watson

No. 34: North Dakota State WR Christian Watson

Comparing Christian Watson to other Day 2 options at receiver

Check out a bunch of Day 2 mock drafts

Day 2 mock drafts deliver receivers

First-round draft grades

Once again, no first-round receiver. So, who’s left?

Packers add a couple of bulldogs to the kennel

No. 28: Georgia DT Devonte Wyatt

No. 22: Georgia LB Quay Walker