The Bills got a key defender in the 2025 draft, but not in the first rounds

ORCHARD PARK – Success in the NFL Draft isn’t always consecutive, meaning sometimes your first-round pick won’t automatically be better than your second-round pick, or your second-rounder ends up as useless as your third-rounder, and so on.

Perhaps the most glaring example of poor draft science occurred in 2000 when the first quarterback taken was Marshall’s Chad Pennington by the Jets at No. 16 overall; someone named Giovanni Carmazzi from Hofstra was the next QB taken at No. 65 by the 49ers; and a guy named Tom Brady from Michigan was the sixth QB on the board at No. 199 by the Patriots.

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As this pertains to the Buffalo Bills rules, take a look at what happened with their 2025 draft pick. Brandon Beane selected defensive linemen in three straight rounds – TJ Sanders in the second, Landon Jackson in the third and Deone Walker in the fourth. At the end of the season, it was Walker who had the best rookie season and earned him a spot on the Pro Football Writers’ Association All-Rookie Team.

“Yeah, it’s great,” Walker said of the recognition he received. “I don’t try to watch things like that too much because I’m only playing football. Even if I get one tackle, 10 tackles, I’ll try my best. My father tells me about it. My mother likes to see it, but I try not to look at all that.”

Obviously, his health for the rest of the season was important as both Sanders and Jackson missed significant time, but Walker was a pleasant surprise as a rookie and there is no doubt that he set an impressive level for himself as he prepares for his second season, this time playing for new defensive coordinator, Jim Leonhard, in a strange new position where he will have to find his place.

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Walker was limited by a back injury in his final season at Kentucky that caused his draft stock to sink, so when he arrived in Buffalo he was eased into action during the offseason program, but by the end of training camp it was clear he would be dressing on game days as part of the defensive rotation.

Deone Walker has emerged as the Bills’ most reliable rookie

And when Ed Oliver, and later Sanders, went down with injuries, Walker became an integral part of the starting lineup along with fellow DT DaQuan Jones, and because he played in every game he led all DTs with 464 regular season snaps which was also third among all players behind only Greg Rousseau and Joey Bosa.

“Deone played really well for us,” Beane said of the 6-foot-7 Walker who weighed 338 pounds last season and recorded 39 tackles for a loss including one sack, had 16 QB pressures, knocked down four passes, and recovered a fumble. He then played 85 snaps in two playoff games and made six tackles, had four pressures, intercepted a pass and deflected one.

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Given the way Walker played last season, it seems like the best defense for Leonard might be an end where he could use his height and lateral quickness, but the Bills believe he can play the middle in a nose tackle role, although it will be similar to how Denver uses DJ Jones lined up between guard and center.

A new defense creates new questions for Deone Walker

“That’s the million dollar question that everybody wants to know,” Leonhard said of the nose tackle program. “Obviously, in my past time at Wisconsin, we played a lot with zero nose. Denver, DJ Jones, it’s not his thing, it’s not what he liked to do. He liked to sit on the edge, so that’s where we got that programmatically. And right now, there’s a couple of players we’re putting back in that situation.”

Walker is one, as is DeWayne Carter, a 2024 third-rounder trying to bounce back after missing all of 2025, and other young candidates include Zion Logue and Phidarian Mathis.

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“I didn’t think too much about it because I played a 3-4 at Kentucky,” Walker said when asked about the change in scheme and his fit. “I played a four-down front last year, so I can say I was used to both. It’s just a different blocking scheme from the offensive line, that’s the biggest thing, or the biggest difference for me, from last year’s defense to this year.”

In addition to where he will meet, Walker’s main focus from the end of 2025 was working on his body. He said his goal was to lose weight and he reported that he is down 10 pounds, and the main reason he wanted to do that was to improve his strength and speed in the pass rush.

“I needed to strengthen my strength,” he said. “There were games where I played a lot of plays. We had guys down, we were easy, and it didn’t matter, the next thing on the mind, to put the ball on the ground. Being able to play 7-, 8-, 9-, 10-play drives, I can still give the team what I need to give.

“I want to be the best player that I can be for my team. I want to be a down-to-earth player, I want to be on the field as much as I can with my team and feel like I’m at 100%. So working on that competitive edge and working out every day. The weight room was really stressful for me this offseason too; I can lose weight, feel a few pounds heavier..that’s it.”

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Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 37 years as a full-time D&C writer/columnist. He has written several books on the team’s history, and is also the host of BLEAV on the Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.

This article first appeared in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills Deone Walker stands out in Buffalo’s 2025 draft class.