Scouting Profile: Deone Walker - IDL - Kentucky
Sales Pitch: Freakish combination of size and athleticism in a top-heavy body. Inconsistent production and effort raise more questions than answers for a unique player.
*Gold Numbers Indicate NCAA T-25 for 2024*
Scouting Report
Deone Walker is a former 4-Star recruit from Michigan where he was both a football and basketball standout. Walker was an impact Freshman All-American who went on to start 36 of his 37 career games. He had a breakout season in 2023 and received All-SEC honors each of his last two years.
Walker is a massive human being at 6’ 7” 340 lbs. He has a unique body type where most of that weight is collected at the top of his frame. For his size, he is an excellent athlete with quick nimble feet to move around in space. That quickness makes him a disruptive penetrator in the run game. Walker’s long arms and heavy hands are easily able to discard lineman at the point of attack and create splash plays. As a pass rusher he wins in mostly the same way. Walker’s agility and size is often too much for lineman to handle alone on an island. He is able to threaten lineman vertically and use his large frame to power through their half-shoulder. When combined with a good collection of pass rush moves - including a strong arm-over and spin move - he is an excellent speed rusher.
Despite Walker’s prodigious size he doesn’t play like one would expect. He operated largely as a finesse player who avoided contact when able. His frame holding most of its weight in the upper half creates a narrow lower body that struggles to generate push in the run game. Walker has trouble at his height maintaining a low pad level in the run game, which makes him easy to drive off the ball. A lack of hip bend limits his ability to quickly drop his hips and take on blockers. Walker is generally disinterested in attacking blockers in the run game. If he cannot win quickly and directly be involved in the play, his motor shuts off. Despite Walker’s length he is not an effective two gap run defender. He lacks run game awareness often being late to shed blockers or shedding them in the wrong direction opening up a hole. As a pass rusher the same lack of leg drive limits Walker’s ability to win with power. His below average flexibility combined with his wide frame makes it difficult to consistently turn the corner and finish sacks as well. Walker’s traits and upside are rare but a strange body type with poor intangibles creates a funky evaluation.
Walker profiles best as a 4i in a odd front, single gap scheme. His 2023 tape combined with his physical tools make him worth taking a flyer on, but it will take a leap of faith from a team. Once considered to be a potential first rounder, Walker now looks to be slotted for Day-2 after an inconsistent 2024 year where he didn’t look like the same player.