Kentucky’s Deone Walker is headed to the NFL despite statistical drop-off as a junior

Kentucky defensive lineman Deone Walker may not have lived up to the hype of a projected first-round NFL draft pick this season, but he is still starting his professional career.

“To BBN, I want to thank you for all of the great Saturday environments over the last three years,” Walker wrote in a note posted to his social media accounts confirming he was forgoing his final season of college eligibility to declare for the NFL draft. “I haven’t felt anything but unconditional love from this fanbase and team. I’m so grateful that you let me in with open arms and allowed me to live the dream I’ve had since I was a little kid. I’m proud to be a Wildcat and I know that I made the right choice being here since high school.”

Walker opened the season ranked No. 17 in The Athletic’s 2025 NFL draft ranking, but slipped to No. 34 in the most recent update.

He totaled 37 tackles, five tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in 11 games. Walker missed just one game due to injury, but he was a frequent inclusion on UK’s weekly availability report as questionable or probable while dealing with a nagging issue.

At 6-foot-6, 345 pounds, Walker’s impact on UK’s defense is greater than just his statistics because he frequently commanded multiple blockers, freeing up other defenders to make plays. Still, he was not as productive as his breakout sophomore season when he totaled 12.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks in 13 games.

“Deone’s a great player and a great leader and has given us everything he can,” UK coach Mark Stoops said when asked to evaluate Walker’s season in November. “I think he would be like any player on the team saying that there was some good, and some things that he could improve on. I can say that about anybody. I think he did a really good job of trying to battle through not being 100%.

“Without trying to make excuses for him, but that’s just keeping it real. It’s just like (quarterback) Brock (Vandagriff) when I tried to defend him when he wasn’t 100%. And Deone went through some problems, injury-wise, where he wasn’t quite 100%.”

With Walker headed to the NFL, Kentucky must replace its entire starting defensive line. End Tre’vonn Rybka has no more eligibility and nose guard Keeshawn Silver entered the transfer portal this week. Octavious Oxendine, the top backup, also played his last college game in the season finale against Louisville.

UK probably needs to add at least one transfer to the group but could return super-senior nose guard Josaih Hayes and senior defensive tackle Kahlil Saunders as the top players on the line.

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