Walker Feeling ‘Elite’ After Battling Parsons, Bosa

The Packers used their first-round pick on Jordan Morgan, but incumbent left tackle Rasheed Walker is feeling confident after several high-level performances.

Packers LT Rasheed Walker vs. the Saints. / Mark Hoffman / USA TODAY NETWORK

GREEN BAY, Wis. – For the better part of a decade, the Green Bay Packers were blessed with the stellar blind-side protection provided by David Bakhtiari.

The Packers finally parted ways with Bakhtiari this offseason, meaning they were in search of their next stud left tackle.

Unless they already have him.

Rasheed Walker was thrown into the fire after Bakhtiari was unable to play past Week 1 last season. In playoff games against Micah Parsons and the Dallas Cowboys and Nick Bosa and the San Francisco 49ers, Walker allowed zero sacks, one quarterback hit and three total pressures.

Those superb performances, which capped a strong all-around season, have Walker feeling abundantly confident at the start of Packers OTAs.

“Elite. I feel elite,” Walker told Packer Central on Tuesday. “Names and labels don’t really dictate how I move. I see man just as man is. I’m in a good spot. I’m never really worried about who I’m going against. It’s, ‘Am I prepared? What do I have to do to prepare?’ That’s where I keep my focus on.”

As a seventh-round pick in 2022, Walker’s rookie season was limited to four snaps on special teams in his only appearance of the season. In 2023, he blew past Yosh Nijman to be the No. 3 tackle. When Bakhtiari shut himself down after the season-opening win at Chicago, Walker moved into the starting lineup.

According to Pro Football Focus, he gave up two sacks in the Week 4 loss against the Detroit Lions. In the Week 8 loss against the Vikings, Walker was charged with one sack – he practically whiffed against D.J. Wonnum – and was flagged twice in just 18 snaps. The next week, he found himself on the bench to start the Week 9 victory over the Rams.

Walker was back in the startling lineup a week later and played as part of a timeshare with Nijman for several weeks. However, with the Packers in must-win mode down the stretch, the team hitched its wagon fully to Walker.

By PFF’s judgment, Walker allowed one sack and five total pressures in victories over Carolina, Minnesota and Chicago to get into the playoffs, then delivered masterpieces against two of the best defensive players in the NFL. Over the last three seasons, Bosa is No. 3 with 44.5 sacks, No. 1 with 115 quarterback hits (17 more than any other player) and No. 2 with 56 tackles for losses. Parsons is fourth with 40.5 sacks, third with 89 quarterback hits and fourth with 51 tackles for losses.

In the playoff romp at Dallas, Parsons had two tackles, zero sacks, zero TFLs and one quarterback hit (not against Walker) in 48 snaps. In the narrow playoff loss at San Francisco, Bosa had three tackles, zero sacks, zero TFLs and five quarterback hits (but only one against Walker) in 63 snaps.  

“Exactly what we saw on film in college,” offensive line coach Luke Butkus said before the start of OTAs. “You guys see just how twitchy of an athlete he is, how competitive he is. He loves to play the game of football, so it’s really cool just watching him grow.”

Starting with Week 11 against the Chargers – the game that kick-started Jordan Love’s red-hot closing stretch – through the Super Bowl, 54 offensive tackles played at least 200 pass-protecting snaps. Walker ranked a solid 24th in PFF’s pass-rushing productivity, which measures sacks, hits and hurries per passing play. During the first 10 weeks, he was 37th out of 56 who played at least his 165 pass-protecting snaps.

“I would say I’m a lot more confident than when I first started,” Walker said. And that means being “more decisive, being able to play faster.”

The Packers used their first-round pick in this year’s draft on Jordan Morgan. No doubt Morgan will be given an opportunity to compete for the starting job, but Walker isn’t going to go down without a fight. He’ll have to prove he’s an “elite” tackle, but he was good enough to get the Packers to the cusp of the NFC Championship Game.

“You just have to be locked in every play,” he said. “It’s all really about preparation and confidence. As long as you prepare the right way, go into a game confident and have a short-term memory while playing, you’ll put yourself in a good position. That’s how I go about it: staying focused, being consistent with my preparation and ignore the good plays and ignore the bad plays. Just be good every play.”

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