Deone Walker, Kentucky: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report

Walker was a four-star recruit from Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Mich. in the class of 2022

Kentucky defensive lineman Deone Walker is one of the 2025 NFL Draft’s largest prospects and most unique athletes. His game is far from flawless, but his raw power and physical potential give him one of the best ceilings in the upcoming class.

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Deone Walker, IDL Kentucky: 2025 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Junior defensive tackle from Detroit, Mich.

Background: Walker was a four-star recruit from Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Mich. in the class of 2022. He was the No. 290 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 264 for On3.com. Walker was an unranked four-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 79 grade out of 100. He was a three-year starter in high school and played both defensive tackle and offensive tackle in 2021. Walker was a First Team All-State selection in a season where he amassed 43 tackles with 15 tackles for loss and six sacks in only seven games. He also played center on Cass Technical’s basketball team.

Injuries & Off-Field: N/A

Awards: 2022 SEC All-Freshman Team, 2022 Second Team All-SEC (PFF), 2022 True Freshman All-American (ESPN, On3, PFF), 2023 First Team All-SEC (Associated Press, PFF), 2023 Third Team All-American (College Football Network), 2023 Team Captain

Pros: Special teams experience on the punt return and field goal block units, arm length surpasses threshold, alignment versatility, quick off the line for a defender his size, thick and massive upper frame, powerful upper body extensions, flashes of knockback in hands, attacks the lineman’s hands and arms to create separation, twitchy violence in his hands, bull rush, spins back into the action, rip move, rip-spin, club move, masterful swim move, club-swim, pull-swim, club-swim into a spin counter, nice array of counters, powerful grip and pull to tear linemen off balance, gets skinny to fly through gaps, multiple TFLs countering through B-gap as a 5-tech, strong arms help with powerful block shed to close gaps, raw power allows him to just blow through some blocks, play strength to redirect to the ball while still being blocked, good speed flowing down the line to the ball, some flashes of quick closing speed in short areas, high effort in pursuit, gets hand up and into passing lanes

Cons: Penalized seven times in 2023, lower frame doesn’t match upper body thickness, build limits bend, conditioning late in games, some body re-composition might be necessary, high pad level, pad level pops up at the snap, loses the leverage battle constantly, inconsistent balance, ended up on the ground several times vs. Georgia (2023), needs to perfect hand placement to cover for poor pad level, high hand placement, fails to extend and maximize arm length, allows offensive linemen into his frame too easily, poor showing against Georgia’s dominant offensive line (2023), pass rush completely neutralized by double teams, not a consistent two-gapping defender, unreliable anchor at POA, dug out and displaced by Georgia (2023), displaced horizontally by combo blocks, timing on block shedding

Overview: Walker lines up at 4-tech, 4i, 3-tech, 2-tech, 1-tech, 0-tech, and even some 5-tech for the Wildcats. They play him everywhere. He even had some rushes from a two-point stance and looked more explosive on those reps than when operating in a three-point stance. Walker has the build of a nose tackle but plays like a penetrating 3-tech. His arm length surpasses the league’s thresholds. His lower body is much leaner than his thick upper half. He needs to cut some weight from his upper frame and fill out his lower half. Walker’s massive build causes him to play with a high pad level, limits his bend, and affects his conditioning late in games. He loses the leverage battle constantly. Walker is quick off the line considering his size and power. His upper body extensions and hands pack the knockback to drive linemen into the backfield. Walker’s hands are twitchy and violent to attack the lineman’s hands and create separation from blocks. He needs to refine his hand placement by placing them lower on the offensive lineman’s frame and protecting his chest better. Walker needs to maximize his length more often to protect his frame and compensate for his high pad level. His pass rush arsenal includes bull rushes, spins, rips, rip-spins, clubs, club-swims, and pull-swims. He masterfully strings together counters and stacks rush moves. Walker uses his powerful grip to pull offensive linemen forward and off balance but also gets skinny to slip through gaps. His inconsistent balance leads to him ending up on the ground too often. Walker uses his strong upper body to shed blocks and close gaps. His raw power alone helps him wreck some single blocks. He’s strong enough to redirect to the football and pull away from offensive linemen mid-block. Walker flashes quick closing speed in short areas and high effort in pursuit to dominate between the tackles. His high pad level and lean lower half contribute to issues in the pass and run games. Quality opponents, like Georgia, neutralize his pass rush plan and displace him from his gap in the run game. Walker doesn’t take on double teams at a consistent level and isn’t reliable down-to-down as a two-gapping defender. His anchor gives way at the point of attack too often. Walker’s timing is poor when he needs to shed blocks and close gaps in the run game.

Overall, Walker is a massive, powerful defensive lineman with the pass rush moves and counters to push or penetrate the pocket, but his high pad level, inconsistent anchor, and poor hand placement make him less effective against the run than his measurements suggest he should be. NFL teams might ask him to drop or shift weight to make him a more well-rounded player.

Role & Scheme Fit: Shade nose tackle who rotates to 3-tech in a 3-4 scheme

Round Grade: Late First to Mid Second Round

Size: 6'6", 345 lbs. (Unofficial)

Submitted: 08-01-24

Updated: 10-08-24