Devonte Wyatt, Quay Walker react to reuniting on the Green Bay Packers

With Georgia football alumni scattered through the NFL, it’s almost inevitable for an incoming rookie Bulldog to meet a fellow Georgia alum in the league. Add in the fact that the Bulldogs drafted an astounding five defensive players taken in the first round alone, and it’s no wonder former Georgia stars Quay Walker and Devonte Wyatt were drafted within picks of each other in the 2022 NFL Draft, both to the Green Bay Packers.

“I’m going to be honest, it’s amazing,” Wyatt said about being drafted alongside Walker. “It’s amazing to be drafted with a teammate, and I already have a teammate [in Eric Stokes] that’s already down there. I’m very happy, I’m very confident and I’m just ready play some ball.”

Walker led the Bulldogs defense with eight total tackles against Alabama in the College Football Playoff National Championship game, while Wyatt compiled a career-high 39 tackles and 2.5 sacks during his senior season. Both played pivotal roles throughout the season that led to the Bulldogs winning their first national title in four decades.

“That’s crazy, it’s a reunion,” Walker said, not knowing his teammate was selected just six picks after him. “I can’t even say anything right now, I’d probably cry. … That’s the guy who pretty much protects me, eats up a lot of blocks for me. He has a high motor, he never stops, he’s relentless. He always holds himself accountable for the team and the organization. He’s a guy that I promise you is going to do that.”

Walker and Wyatt get to lean on each other for help as they navigate their first year in Green Bay. Even more so, they have another fellow former Georgia teammate on the team in Stokes, who just came off his rookie season with the Packers in January. Packers head coach Matt LaFluer said that Stokes’ presence is a major plus for the two rookies.

Not only do they get to enjoy their time in Green Bay by each others’ side, as first-round draft selections, they’ll also be paid well while doing so. Walker, who went No. 22 overall, signed a four-year, $13.8 million deal with a $7.2 million signing bonus while Wyatt signed a four-year deal worth $12.86 million and a $6.53 million signing bonus as the No. 28 overall pick. Both contracts are fully-guaranteed.

The status that comes with being a first-round selection on a Super Bowl contender, directly coming off a CFP national championship no less, is a lot of pressure for any draft pick, though LaFluer doesn’t think the lights will ever be too bright for the duo after the monstrous success they helped bring to their alma mater.