Draft will show if Packers think Rasheed Walker is the left tackle of the future

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Rasheed Walker could be the Green Bay Packers‘ left tackle for the next several years, or perhaps his 15-game stint as the starter last season was simply a placeholder, someone to bridge the gap between five-time All-Pro David Bakhtiari and the next blindside protector of Jordan Love.

Everyone — Walker included — will have a better idea after the draft.

If general manager Brian Gutekunst picks a tackle at No. 25 overall — or perhaps higher if he makes a draft-day trade — it will reveal exactly where Walker stands. A Day 2 pick might leave things ambiguous.

“It’s all out of my control,” Walker said this week. “I can just do what I do. If they draft another tackle, it’s out of my control. It [has] nothing to do with me.”

The last part is where Walker is wrong — it has everything to do with him.

When asked whether Walker was the left tackle of the future based on what he showed last year, Packers coach Matt LaFleur said: “Well, he was our left tackle last year” before adding “I think so.”

What remains unclear is whether that was by necessity or the start of a long run for Walker.

“I thought he had a really good year,” LaFleur said. “I think there’s a lot of room for improvement just in terms of from a consistency standpoint, you know, playing 70 plays at a high level. We’ve seen some great flashes from him. He’s certainly athletic enough to do it. So it’s going to be a big offseason for him, but he’s a guy that we’re certainly confident in.”

The Packers have turned seventh-round picks like Walker into long-term starting linemen before. Mark Tauscher, a seventh-rounder in 2000, went on to start 132 games at right tackle over an 11-year career.

In fact, the Packers have not drafted an offensive lineman in the first round since 2011, when they took Derek Sherrod at No. 32 overall. They also took a tackle in the first round the year before, Bryan Bulaga at No. 23 overall, and it was Bulaga — not Sherrod — who became a long-term starter.

Walker, the 249th overall pick in 2022, did not play a single snap on offense as a rookie but was thrown in at left tackle in Week 2 last season after more problems with Bakhtiari’s ailing knee — which required a fifth surgery and eventually led to his release earlier this year.

Walker made his first start in Week 2 at Atlanta but didn’t wrestle control of the job full-time until Week 16. In between, he found himself in a rotation with Yosh Nijman, who started once but otherwise played considerably fewer snaps than Walker.

Walker allowed a team-high eight sacks yet still had the best pass block win rate (95.8) among offensive linemen who played at least 450 snaps last season, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Upon closer inspection of Walker’s eight sacks, some could be based on circumstance. For example, according to ESPN metrics, Love had the eighth-highest average time to sack last season (4.88 seconds) and the seventh-highest time in the pocket (2.56 seconds), all while having just a 35% completion rate outside the pocket, which was last among qualified quarterbacks.

Walker’s run block win rate of 74.1% ranked 37th out of 70 qualified tackles. He also had a team-high six accepted penalties, including four false starts. He started and played in every snap of both playoff games, and Love was not sacked in either one.

The Packers let Nijman leave in free agency to sign a two-year, $8 million contract with the Panthers.

“Once they decided to go with Rasheed towards the end of the year, and it was his gig, I thought he played really well,” Bulaga said this week. “I’m hoping this has been a good offseason for him and he’s prepared and ready to go and has improved on things he saw on tape and made those a focal point for his point in the offseason.”

While Bulaga watched Walker from afar this season, he will get an up-close look at him this week. Both are on the Packers annual Tailgate Tour, a bus trip around Wisconsin that includes current and former players connecting with the community.

“I can always put a couple pointers in his ear for him and pick his brain a little bit about how he’s doing and what he’s thinking out there,” Bulaga said.

Left guard Elgton Jenkins, who played next to Walker last season, is also on the trip and has watched Walker develop.

“From his first game starting to his last game, he’s grown a lot,” Jenkins said. “You see it more on the field, as a player and as a person, I just feel like he matured so much. I’m excited for him moving forward. He’s got a bright future ahead of him.”

Regardless of what happens in the draft, there will be changes on the offensive line with Bakhtiari, Nijman and right guard Jon Runyan all gone. Runyan signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the Giants in free agency.

Third-year pro Sean Rhyan has been penciled in start at Runyan’s old spot.

The Packers have another potential All-Pro/Pro-Bowl caliber tackle in Zach Tom. He excelled at right tackle last season, but at this point, they seem inclined to leave him there rather than flip him to left tackle.

Whatever the case, all eyes are on the left tackle spot, especially considering the Packers soon will throw massive money at Love via a contract extension in the $50-million-a-year range.

“Obviously Jordan’s the quarterback and people understand what’s coming down the pipe for him — a mega deal,” Bulaga said. “So if you’re an offensive lineman and you’re a young guy and you’re starting, you’re expected to hold your weight. Doesn’t matter if you’re a rookie, doesn’t matter what year you are, you’re expected to hold your weight and play well.

“We’ll see what they do in the draft. Whenever Green Bay gets into the draft, it’s kind of a crapshoot what they do and who they take. But I’m excited to see. It’s always fun on draft night.”