Deone Walker, welcome to Big Buffalo Nation. He had to wait a little longer than he probably would have liked, but the former Kentucky defensive lineman has found a new home in the NFL. The Detroit native was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round of the NFL Draft with pick No. 109.
The Bills took Maxwell Hairston with pick No. 30 in the first round of the NFL Draft. They’ll join former Kentucky running back Ray Davis in Buffalo.
Ahead of his junior season, Walker was projected by many as a first-round pick. We were hopeful that he would hear his name called on day two of the NFL Draft, but like so many things in the 2024 Kentucky football season, things did not go according to plan.
Fresh off a true sophomore campaign that featured 7.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss, expectations were high for the two-time All-SEC selection. We did not know it at the time, but an injury severely slowed down the 6-foot-7, 331-pound athlete. He suffered from a pars defect, which is a fracture in the wings of the vertebrae in his back.
“It was the whole season,” he told KSR after UK Pro Day. “If you all can go back and look at the games, you probably see me on the sideline, bent over because it was hurting so bad.”
Despite the severe injury, he only missed one game. It hurt his production, tallying only five tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He did not test particularly well in the pre-Draft process either, forcing his NFL Draft stock to tumble.
His final season at Kentucky did not go according to plan, but you can’t coach Deone’s size and playmaking ability. That is why the big fella found a home for Sundays.
Walker has something to prove in the next phase of his football journey. He showed that he can be a disruptive force in the interior of the defensive line. Now healthy, we’ll get a chance to see him prove it on Sundays.