'He's the defensive rookie of the year': teammates praise Buffalo Bills DT Deone Walker

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — Deone Walker is only eight games into his NFL career, but he’s quickly made a name for himself.

“I'm gonna go ahead and say this one now because I don't think he's been getting enough recognition for it. I think Deone is the Defensive Rookie of the Year so far, you know what I mean?” Bills veteran defensive tackle Jordan Phillips said. “When he gets out there, people notice, you know, like he's a big guy, but he's athletic, he can run, he's powerful. He's everything you want in a nose tackle.”

Walker was immediately elevated into a bigger role than anyone originally anticipated. Second-year defensive tackle DeWayne Carter suffered a season-ending injury in the summer. Ed Oliver has played less than three total games because of injuries. DaQuan Jones has missed three games, and Larry Ogunjobi was suspended for the first six weeks. With so many defensive tackles unavailable, someone needed to step up, and Walker has.

“I just want to be in my right gaps for the people behind me, for our veterans, for our captains, and just for the team and for Buffalo, you know?” Walker said. “Going in about it every day, feeling like that's where the confidence is, because of course, Highmark, that's he loudest stadium I've ever played in. So you know, just hearing the roars after a TFL or after a pick, after a sack, you know, there ain't nothing better in the world.”

“I think Deone is light years ahead of me when I was a rookie, you know what I mean?” Phillips added. “So I think he is the real deal.”

"He's balling," fellow rookie and college teammate Maxwell Hairston added. "Everybody is praising him and all this, but it's like, bro, I know him. Like I knew that this was gonna happen, so it doesn't even catch me by surprise. I expected this."

The 21-year-old defensive tackle from the University of Kentucky was taken in the fourth round of the NFL Draft in April. Walker slipped in the draft because of a lingering back injury that nagged him during his final season at Kentucky. Buffalo Bills GM Brandon Beane said the year prior, the team had a first-round grade on him, so rolling the dice was a no-brainer in the fourth round. So far, it appears to have been a great decision.

Dane Brugler, an NFL Draft analyst with The Athletic, recently published his NFL midseason All-Rookie Team and had Walker as the top defensive tackle from the 2025 Class.

“But eight games into his NFL career, Walker has looked like a steal,” Brugler wrote. “Not only has he proved himself as a viable starter, but he is commanding double teams and helping create congestion on the line of scrimmage (go watch some of his goal-line snaps versus the Chiefs from Sunday). Time will tell if he can continue playing at this level, but he has changed the narrative around him.”

Brugler’s right. Walker looked dominant with some of his reps against the Chiefs. Ben Solak from ESPN posted a video of Walker’s stop on a crucial 3rd and 1 stop in the third quarter against the Chiefs. Walker exploded through the Chiefs' offensive line and stopped running back Kareem Hunt for no gain.

"Obviously he's a physical freak," defensive end Greg Rousseau said. "He's huge. We call him like a dancing bear because he's huge, but he moves so well. So I mean, I think he has a special career ahead of him, and he's going to keep doing what he's doing."

Make no mistake, there is pressure to perform. But Walker says one of the keys to his early success is treating the NFL like every other level of football he’s played.

“I enjoy football. I love football. Football is my first love,” Walker said. “I feel like just me going out there playing doesn't feel like a job, it doesn't feel like ‘oh I got all this stress, I’ve got this big weight on my shoulders’. I'm just out there playing, you know?”