Men the size of Kentucky defensive tackle Deone Walker don’t move as well as he does.
Once Walker stepped into the Kentucky Wildcats’ starting lineup as a freshman, it was clear that he was a talented player. Three All-SEC nominations later, he looks to bring his disruptive play into the pros as he enters the 2025 NFL Draft.
Deone Walker’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’6″
- Weight: 345 pounds
- Position: Defensive Tackle
- School: Kentucky
- Current Year: Junior
Walker was a four-star recruit coming out of Cass Technical High School in Detroit, according to 247Sports, which boasts former and current NFL players like Vernon Gholston, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and Kalen King as alumni. Walker played in seven games as a senior, tallying 43 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss, and 6.0 sacks. He was also a center on his high school’s basketball team.
Once he had committed to Kentucky to play college football, Walker made his presence felt in the lineup right away. He entered the starting lineup three games into the season and ended up taking 540 snaps as a true freshman. He finished the year with 40 tackles, five tackles for a loss, one sack, and 24 quarterback pressures in 13 games.
For his performance, he was the only Kentucky player named an AP All-SEC player, cracking the second team.
After a strong freshman year, Walker’s numbers truly picked up in 2023. He improved his sack total to 7.5 and his tackles for a loss total to 13 in his sophomore season. He also ended up with 43 quarterback pressures, generating a rare level of pass-rushing disruption for a defender his size. For the second year in a row, he earned an appearance as a second-team All-SEC defensive tackle.
Walker headed into the 2024 season with plenty of NFL buzz, giving him high expectations to live up to his junior year. His numbers took a step back; his tackles fell from 55 to 37, his sacks from 7.5 to 1.5, his pressures from 43 to 22, and his tackles for a loss from 13 to five.
Nonetheless, he was still able to serve as a piece worth planning around, drawing double-teams and creating opportunities for his teammates. He was named a second-team All-SEC defender for the third year in a row for his play.
Scouting Report
Strengths
- Massive individual with long arms and an insane amount of pure mass.
- Three-year starter at the SEC level; battle-tested against current and future NFL talent in the trenches.
- Power generated from his strikes is very good, allowing him to overwhelm the opposition at the point of attack.
- Offers alignment versatility, as he has clear nose-tackle or 1-technique size but has the capability to win as a 3-technique as well.
- Extremely impressive athlete for someone as big as he is.
- Size-adjusted acceleration off the line of scrimmage is very good, and his agility in space is better than it has any right to be.
- Does a good job of stacking and shedding with push-pulls in the run game.
- Naturally generates double-team looks because of his size, which makes life much easier for his fellow defensive linemen.
- Rushes with a high motor and works hard to keep his legs churning when he’s engaged with offensive linemen.
Weaknesses
- Pad level provides leverage issues for him and makes it tougher for him to maximize his power.
- Can be taken out of a play by lighter offensive linemen if they’re down-blocking against him, as his high center of gravity makes it tougher to combat with their momentum on the move.
- Doesn’t generate much bend in his lower half, and being as tall as he is, it’s naturally more difficult for him to be the lower man.
- May benefit from losing a little bit of weight to maintain conditioning for a faster and more physical NFL game.
- Much less effective as a pass-rusher in 2024 than he was in 2023.
- Instincts against the run can be hit or miss, and while he’s strong and shows promise in how he uses his hands, his spatial awareness isn’t very impressive.
- Isn’t as consistent at freeing up his hands to make plays against the run as one would hope.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
From a physical perspective, it’s hard to find a more tantalizing defensive tackle prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft than Walker.
He’s simply a massive individual with the length, size, and power that makes him a hassle to block 1-on-1. If you’re an opposing offensive lineman and fail to block him with proper technique, he’s going to out-physical you every time.
It’s Walker’s athleticism for his size that makes him so special, though. His quickness off the ball and in pursuit of ball carriers is scary good for someone pushing 350 pounds. His speed helps him tremendously as a pass-rusher, and given what he’s shown on tape during his time at Kentucky, he projects to be more than capable on passing downs in the NFL.
The issue isn’t Walker’s physical talent but rather whether or not he can maximize it properly. With a high center of gravity and little flexibility in his lower half, he regularly gives up leverage when he locks up with offensive linemen. His processing against the run still needs to improve, and there have been many instances on tape where much smaller blockers were able to shut him down with proper hand placement and weight distribution.
Because of his inconsistency, it might be difficult for teams to be willing to take him in Round 1. There have been plenty of physically gifted defensive linemen to enter the NFL, only to fail because their technical prowess wasn’t where it needed to be.
Walker’s upside is incredibly high, though, and when he’s at the top of his game, you can see the parallels between him and current Giants All-Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II. His upside should get him selected within the first 50 picks, even if he isn’t a finished product.
