Bills 4th Round Pick : Deone Walker - DT - Kentucky

[starrymessenger]

If he ever gets in shape, is coachable and learns to lower his pad level he could be pretty good. There’s stuff there to work with.

[JoeF]

From Dane Brugler - The Athletic - Beast Draft Guide.  A really good publication by the way...

 

A three-year starter at Kentucky, Walker was an interchangeable defensive lineman in defensive coordinator Brad White’s scheme (45.7 percent of his 2024 snaps came as a three-technique DT, 26.3 percent as a one-technique/nose, 25 percent head-up on or outside of the offensive tackle). After earning preliminary first-round grades from scouts as a sophomore, his junior season wasn’t nearly as dominant or consistent (pressures created dropped from 51 in 2023 to 21 in 2024), partly because of his back injury.

 

A passionate basketball player through high school, Walker certainly benefits from the “planet theory” — there are only so many humans walking the earth who have his combination of size, strength and sweet feet. Though he doesn’t play stiff, there are sloppy elements of his game that must improve to streamline his ability to stack, shed and finish. Overall, Walker is a unique athlete with impressive balance and movement skills for a 330-plus-pounder, but his technique and pad level must catch up with his physical talent for the flashes to become consistent. If he adapts to pro coaching, he has the skill set to become an NFL starter.

 

Note:  Had him rated as a 4th rounder...Bills needed a space eater but a tough space eater.  Hopefully the D coaching staff can develop him.  Maybe having Ray Davis and Mad Max on the team will help.  

Edited 14 hours ago by JoeF

[DrDawkinstein]

1 minute ago, T.E. said:

No offense...yet again. How many DLs do you need, exactly?

 

It isnt the draft for Offense skill positions, and it wasnt our Offense not performing. Build that D.

[Alphadawg7]

1 minute ago, Generic_Bills_Fan said:

It’s crazy how much the espn projections hated Thornton haha I’m still so confused by that.  They had him as the 237th ranked player 😂

 

He is one of those guys who had a pretty wide variance on grade.  I want to get off the field, getting guys this big and tall where they can get their hands up is what I was attracted to.  Its also why I liked Collins too.  

 

He is no slam dunk, but you cant coach size, and he has good potential.  I wouldn't have liked taking him earlier, but here in the 4th with our original pick and only giving up our 5th feels like good value and worth the upside.  Best part about a guy like this, is we run a rotation here, a heavy rotation.  So if he can just be effective situationally then its a win.  

[RyanC883]

terrible pick, esp. with CJ West still available.  Dude is just big, has terrible technique.  

[The Jokeman]

If he lives up to the comparison of 

Gervon Dexter Sr we got just what we needed. 

 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10135852-deone-walker-nfl-draft-2025-scouting-report-for-kentucky-dl

[WhitewalkerInPhilly]

A giant 1 tech to sit a year behind DaQuan? If we are nit picking here I don't know what to do

[Nelius]

Love it. 4th round, who cares, get nasty. Want to see him and Spencer Brown arm wrestle 

[Brandon]

2 minutes ago, BCAS Baritone said:

from PFF

 

Pros
Very quick first step for a player of his size
Has a baseline for a variety of pass-rush moves
Has the length to play 3-4 DE
Hand usage is quick despite also very long length
Good natural power in his upper body

 

Cons
Not a lot of weight in his lower half despite weighing 340 pounds — ankles/calves are skinny
High-waisted build makes it tougher for him to sit in his stance with leverage/power
Pops up quickly out of his stance
 

 

 

I think they're basically getting a younger version of Jordan Phillips.

[Kmart128]

Just now, RyanC883 said:

terrible pick, esp. with CJ West still available.  Dude is just big, has terrible technique.  

 

Technique is coachable. Size and athleticism is not.

[wppete]

Just now, The Jokeman said:

If he lives up to the comparison of 

Gervon Dexter Sr we got just what we needed. 

 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10135852-deone-walker-nfl-draft-2025-scouting-report-for-kentucky-dl

I agree. I also see a close comparison to Jordan Phillips. Hopefully he puts it all

together he has huge potential. 

[JerseyBills]

7 minutes ago, Simon said:

 Yep.

They are pancake eating mf'ers

 

8 minutes ago, Draconator said:

Yes with Chicago. 

What was compensation? ty

[Brandon]

1 minute ago, WhitewalkerInPhilly said:

A giant 1 tech to sit a year behind DaQuan? If we are nit picking here I don't know what to do

 

I think this may push DaQuan off the roster as a post June 1st cut in a few weeks.  

[Charles Romes]

7 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

Do we have the tallest DL in history?  lol

 

I wanted WR Donte Thornton badly who went 1 pick before, but Deone Walker was high on my list of guys I wanted today too.  

 

I have been pounding the drum to rebuild the DL for so long, so I am loving we are trying to do just that.  There are going to be a lot tall arms on our DL disrupting passing lanes as well.  

 

did we move up to get Walker AFTER the raiders took Thornton, or did we already have the walker slot when Thornton went off the board. 

[GASabresIUFan]

Very crowded DL room with Jones, Oliver, Rousseau, Bosa, Carter, Solomon, Lodge, AJE, plus draftees Sanders, Jackson and now Walker.  Then add the 2 suspended players in Ogunjobi and Hochet.  That’s a lot of bodies for only 9-10 spots

[PrimeTime101]

13 minutes ago, Virgil said:

There's your 1T.  Everyone can rest easy now.

 

Interesting to me that they took him over Farmer, considering the visits they had with Farmer.  Also, surprised they felt they needed to trade up for him, since the ratings I saw for Walker had him going lower.  ESPN has Walker 10 rating points less than Farmer, for whatever that is worth.  

Many have said.. between round 2 and 4 the fall off of talent one 1 Tech DT is not big.  This along with our 3rder will get the McD treatment this year and learn. Next preseason is when we will see how they have gotten better. 

[Simon]

1 minute ago, JerseyBills said:

 

What was compensation? ty

 

Keep your eyes on teh road!

 

From Dr Dawk: 

Yeah, we got it back from the Bears for #132 and #169

[Draconator]

2 minutes ago, JerseyBills said:

 

What was compensation? ty

We got our original 4th rounder back, 109, and Chicago got their original 4th. We also threw in one of our 5th round picks. 

[BillsShredder83]

Excellent pick. Despite being 6'7 340lbs draftbuzz has him having quite a bit of juice as a pash rusher. Seems like a guy they may want to drop 10lbs or so imo, conditioning is an issue, but he carries it well. Has basketball background so he's not a fat slob, got a healthy build. Senior bowl tape below

 

 

[Matt_In_NH]

15 minutes ago, dreadlox said:

Joe Marino is gonna lose his mind! He wanted nothing to do with this guy.

Yeah he thinks this guy has skinny legs and a big heavy torso that gets him pushed around