8/6/2021 football Edit

Two Penn State Nittany Lions crack PFF's list of top-10 B1G Draft prospects

David Eckert • Happy Valley Insider

Staff

A pair of Penn State Nittany Lions football players found themselves on a Pro Football Focus list ranking the top-10 prospects in the Big Ten for the 2022 NFL Draft.

Safety Jaquan Brisker and offensive tackle Rasheed Walker both claimed spots on the list, giving the Nittany Lions two representatives — one on each side of the ball.

Predictably, Ohio State led the charge with four players named, but the Nittany Lions were the only other school with more than one player on the list.

Let's get into the full rankings, below:

Penn State Nittany Lions football left tackle Rasheed Walker is widely considered one of the best tackle prospects in the country. (Penn State Athletics)

Pro Football Focus Big Ten Draft Prospect Rankings

1. Garrett Wilson — Ohio State

2. Tyler Linderbaum — Iowa

3. Chris Olave — Ohio State

4. Brandon Joseph — Northwestern

5. Aidan Hutchinson — Michigan

6. George Karlaftis — Purdue

7. Jaquan Brisker — Penn State

8. Thayer Munford — Ohio State

9. Rasheed Walker — Penn State

10. Haskell Garrett — Ohio State

Both Walker and Brisker had the opportunity to test the waters professionally following the 2020 season and elected to come back to Happy Valley instead.

Brisker made his decision alongside Jahan Dotson and Tariq Castro-Fields, who hashed out their choice on a group FaceTime call. Just like that, three crucial pieces for Penn State were back in the fold.

Walker, for his part, acknowledged that his choice was hard, but the presence of Penn State offensive line coach Phil Trautwein and his reputation for developing young offensive linemen helped Walker make the decision.

"Also, I felt like I had a few personal goals I was still trying to reach, like getting first-team All-Big Ten and being an All-American," Walker said this spring. "The team had a lot of goals to have a championship season, and that's why I came back, that's the main reason I came back. I feel like we can accomplish those goals this season."

In discussing Brisker's strengths, PFF called him "arguably the best box safety in college football." According to PFF's ratings, he is the best tackling safety in college football as well. His physicality should make him an asset at the next level.

PFF was doing more projecting with Walker, noting that his grades last season did not pop off the page. Combining his 6-foot-6, 310-pound frame with quickness befitting of a much smaller man, Walker is a very intriguing prospect for NFL teams come this spring.

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