Deone Walker goes to Buffalo Bills in NFL draft: What to know about former Kentucky DT

• Deone Walker, a former Kentucky football defensive tackle, was drafted by the Buffalo Bills.
• Walker was selected in the fourth round, 109th overall, a significant drop from the first-round projections he regularly received last year.
• He joins fellow Kentucky Wildcat Maxwell Hairston, who was drafted by the Bills in the first round.

LEXINGTON — Deone Walker’s NFL career will begin in Buffalo, New York.

The Buffalo Bills selected Walker in the fourth round of this year’s draft Saturday with the 109th overall pick. The 6-foot-7, 331-pound Walker was a star defensive tackle for Kentucky football the past three seasons.

Even so, it marked a precipitous drop for Walker, who was expected to be a first-round pick at the outset of the 2024 season — and in some circles, was projected to be the first player off the board at his position, squarely among the top 10 picks.

Instead, he went off the board three rounds later, with 108 players picked ahead of him.

Walker is the second UK player Buffalo has selected in the 2025 draft. The Bills picked defensive back Maxwell Hairston in the first round Thursday night.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.