Prospect Who Was ‘Done’ With Football Having NFL Draft Visit With Packers

If you are looking for a prospect to pull for, perhaps look no further than Akron cornerback Malcolm DeWalt IV.

DeWalt, who is having an NFL Draft visit with the Green Bay Packers on Tuesday, as first reported by Easton Butler, had given up the sport. As a senior running back and receiver at Olympic High School in Bremerton, Wash., in 2019, he missed most of the season with a broken collarbone. The injury knocked him completely off recruiting radars.

He landed at Snow Community College in Utah, a school that has helped produce a bunch of NFL players, including Garrett Bolles, but left without playing a game due to a coaching change and the COVID pandemic.

And that was that for his football career.

“I was working at this place called Metagenics,” he told The Kitsap Sun recently. “I don't really know how to explain it, but I was cutting bags and putting it into this big blender and blending protein products. ... We were there 3:30, 4 in the morning.”

Friends encouraged him to give it another shot – he was an elite sprinter during his childhood – but football was in his past.

“People would always tell me go back and play or whatever,” he said. “But I was kind of done.”

That changed when his dad, Malcolm DeWalt III, persuaded him through a “heart-to-heart” conversation.

As his dad told The Sun: “I told him, ‘You have way more talent than you even understand. You have the opportunity. Everybody doesn't get that opportunity.’”

A former high school coach reached out. He was coaching at Butte Community College – where Aaron Rodgers got his start in Chico, Calif. – so DeWalt decided to “give it one more shot” in 2022.

DeWalt was moved to the defensive side of the ball. He had 24 tackles during his debut season, then had four interceptions, 12 pass breakups and 38 tackles in 2023.

“There have been times when it got hard and I wanted to go home, but I fought through it, and I really enjoyed how my coaches and staff were there for me,” DeWalt said in a university story. “I feel 1,000 percent supported by Butte.”

His growth at Butte opened the door at Akron.

He played in 11 games as a reserve in 2024 but had a breakthrough season in 2025 with two interceptions, eight additional passes defensed, one forced fumble and 58 tackles while playing mostly perimeter cornerback. PFF charged him with a 54.8 percent completion rate and a 78.6 passer rating. Impressively, he missed only one tackle.

He played almost 300 snaps on special teams in two seasons with the Zips.

At pro day, he measured 6-foot-1 and 197 pounds. He ran his 40 in as fast as 4.35 seconds with a 36-inch vertical.

DeWalt might not be drafted until late. He might not be drafted at all. Regardless, the Packers have a major need at cornerback, not just for a potential starter but for developmental depth. Other than Benjamin St-Juste, who was signed in free agency, all of Green Bay’s cornerbacks – including Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine – will be free agents after the upcoming season.

Maybe DeWalt, a humble, hard-working prospect, will be part of the solution. It’s an incredible story for a player who had given up the game.

“It's cool to even be in the position of the conversation,” DeWalt said. “You never really think it'll be you.”

Packers Predraft Visits

Might Christen Miller be the Packers' first draft pick? Miller will have a "30 visit" with the Packers, and @JacobWestendorf has his story. ⬇️https://t.co/l3wAYTTUa3
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) April 7, 2026

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