ORCHARD PARK – Success in the NFL Draft isn’t always linear, meaning sometimes your first-round pick isn’t automatically going to be better than your second-round pick, or your second-rounder ends up not as useful as your third-rounder, and so on.
Perhaps the most glaring example of the inexact science of the draft 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 off the board at No. 199 by the Patriots.
As this pertains to the Buffalo Bills, look at what happened with their 2025 selection order. 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. By season’s end, it was Walker who had by far the best rookie season and it earned him a spot on the Pro Football Writers’ Association All-Rookie Team.
“Yeah, it’s cool,” Walker said of the recognition he received. “I don’t try to look at stuff like that as much because it’s just playing football. No matter if I get one tackle, 10 tackles, I’m gonna try my best. My dad tells me about it. My mom loves to see it, but I try not to look at all that.”
Obviously, his season-long health mattered as both Sanders and Jackson missed significant time, but Walker was a pleasant surprise as a rookie and he no doubt set an impressive standard for himself heading into his second season, this time playing for a new defensive coordinator, Jim Leonhard, in a new odd-man front where he’ll have to find his niche.
Walker had been slowed by a back injury in his last season at Kentucky which caused his draft stock to dip, so when he arrived in Buffalo he was eased into the action during the offseason program, but by the end of training camp it was clear that he would be dressing on game days as part of the defensive tackle rotation.
Deone Walker emerged as the Bills’ most reliable rookie
And once Ed Oliver, and later Sanders, went down with injuries, Walker became an integral part of the front line along with fellow DT DaQuan Jones, and because he played in every game he led all of the DTs with 464 regular-season snaps which was also third among all linemen behind only Greg Rousseau and Joey Bosa.
“Deone played very well for us,” Beane said of the 6-foot-7 Walker who last season played at around 338 pounds and recorded 39 tackles with eight for lost yardage including one sack, had 16 QB pressures, batted down four passes, and recovered a fumble. He then played 85 snaps in the two playoff games and made six tackles, had four pressures, intercepted a pass and deflected another.
Given the way Walker played last season, it seemed like the best fit for him Leonhard’s defense might be as an end where he could use his height and lateral quickness, but the Bills believe he can play the middle in the nose tackle role, though it would be similar to the way Denver deploys DJ Jones lined up between the guard and center.
A new defense creates new questions for Deone Walker
“That’s the million-dollar question everybody wants to know,” Leonhard said regarding the plan for nose tackle. “Obviously, in my past at Wisconsin, we played more with a zero nose. Denver, DJ Jones, it’s not his thing, it’s not what he liked to do. He liked to be on an edge, so that’s where schematically we got with that. And right now, there’s a number of players that we’re repping in that position.”
Walker is one, so is DeWayne Carter, the 2024 third-round pick trying to bounce back after missing all of 2025, and other lesser candidates include Zion Logue and Phidarian Mathis.
“I really didn’t think about it too much because I played a 3-4 in at Kentucky,” Walker said when asked about the scheme change and his fit. “I played the four-down front last year, so I would say I was used to both. It’s just different blocking schemes from the offensive line, that’s the main thing, or the main difference for me, going from last year’s defense to this year.”
More than where he’ll line up, Walker’s primary focus since the end of 2025 was working on his body. He said his goal was to drop some weight and he reported he’s about 10 pounds down, and the biggest reason why he wanted to do that was to improve his stamina and his speed on the pass rush.
“I needed to build up my stamina,” he said. “There was games where I played a lot of plays. We had guys go down, we were light, and it doesn’t matter, next down mentality, just put the ball down. Being able to play the 7-, 8-, 9-, 10-play drives, still being able to give the team what I need to give.
“I want to be the best player that I can for my team. I want to be a three-down player, I want to be on the field as much as I can with my team and feel like I’m at 100% still. So just working on that competitive stamina and working every day. The weight room was a big emphasis for me as well this offseason; I can lose a couple pounds of fat, build on some muscle, and still look slim. I feel like it’s that.”
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 37 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in 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 originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills found a core defender in 2025 draft , but not in early rounds
Reporting by Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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By Sal Maiorana, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | USA TODAY Network
