ORCHARD PARK - When you talk to Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Deone Walker, he has this little habit, one he probably doesn’t even realize, of slowly backing away from you the longer the conversation goes on.
You try to close the gap a bit - remember, most reporters are holding recording devices or cameras - but again, as he’s talking, he starts slipping back. It’s not that he’s uncomfortable talking because he has an ebullient personality and he’s perfectly willing to cooperate with reporters, but it’s also clear that he’d rather just let his play on the field speak for him.
“I don't care about the limelight,” the 2025 fourth-round draft pick said Wednesday. “You know, as long as we get the W, that's all that matters to me.”
Here’s the thing:
If he keeps playing the way he has in the first two weeks of the season, it’s going to be hard for Walker to avoid the limelight.
For a Buffalo defense that is still trying to come together in Jim Leonhard’s new scheme, Walker and Greg Rousseau have been two of the best players at their positions in the league.
Rousseau has four sacks, 16 pressures, a pass deflection, two forced fumbles, and seven stops which are defined as tackles that created a failed play for the offense. Most everyone, specifically Leonhard, thought the switch to standup outside linebacker was going to bring out more in Rousseau’s game and that has clearly happened.
But for Walker, while it was believed that he could also take his game to a new level playing either on the nose or in the 4i position, the rapidity of his ascension has been somewhat surprising. He has one sack, nine pressures, three batted down passes, and four stops.
Why Bills coaches love what they're seeing from Walker
“I think the scheme fits him,” coach Joe Brady said of the 22-year-old Walker. “He made a jump from year one to year two, but we've only played two games right now. The consistency, I want to be able to see that game in and game out, and him being able to keep that competitive stamina. He has a style of play that fits exactly what we're looking for, so it's important for him to just continue finding ways to get better. We're putting stuff on tape now and teams are obviously going to have to prepare for him and him being able to adjust and kind of handle that, but I've been pleased with his progress thus far.”
There have been timesagainst the Texans and Lionswhen he’s been unblockable, a complete menace in the middle bull rushing through double teams or shedding blockers on a stunt, and even if he doesn’t make the play it seems like his presence allowed someone else to make the play.
“Yeah, you can't watch that (Detroit) game and not feel his impact,” Leonhard said, recalling his three pass deflections, two coming on a key possession in the fourth quarter when the Lions were still within 10 points and trying to make it a one-score game. “I mean, the numbers don't necessarily say that he had this huge game. You might look back at the end of the year and go, ‘God, I feel like there was more in there somewhere. Like, where were these sacks, or where was the production?’ And then you turn the game on, and the guy just completely wrecks it.”
How Deone Walker's talent translated to the NFL
Walker was a pleasant surprise as a rookie, especially since he had slipped in the draft after a junior season that was slowed by a back injury. Had he been eligible for the draft following his outstanding 2023 season at Kentucky, he might have gone in the first round because his athleticism for a man who stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 330 pounds is crazy.
The Bills chose defensive linemen T.J. Sanders and Landon Jackson ahead of Walker, but with hindsight being 20/20, there is no doubt Walker is the best of those three players and the Bills have to feel pretty fortunate that all the other teams in the NFL bypassed him in the draft at least three times.
After he had gotten a good look at Walker in OTAs before the 2025 season, former Bills’ defensive coordinator Bobby Babich said, “When you turn on the tape, he does things at his size that you’re not expecting someone at that size to be able to do.”
Walker continued his growth through training camp and when the season began, he suddenly became a key man for the Bills because they lost Ed Oliver for all but three games. He delivered a solid rookie season, one that earned him a spot on the NFL’s all-rookie team, playing in every game and finishing with 39 tackles, one sack, 16 pressures, four batted passes and a fumble recovery.
Walker's next challenge comes against struggling Chargers front
Sunday, Walker has a chance to once again be a difference-maker because the Chargers’ offensive line is really struggling, so much so that ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky said, “Their interior offensive line is absolutely atrocious right now.”
RG Cole Strange, the 2022 Patriots first-round pick who is already on his third team in four-plus seasons, has been worked over in the first two games. Rookie Jake Slaughter is still learning at center, and due to injuries they may be down to their third-string LG, Trevor Penning.
If the Bills get Oliver back, he and Walker could be in for big days which would only help to unleash Rousseau and Bradley Chubb off the edge and make Justin Herbert’s life miserable.
“The consistency part is what separates the good players from the great ones,” Walker said. “I'm not going out anywhere looking for plays, not trying to make the big play. If it comes to me, I'll make it. I'm gonna try and be in the best position to make it but if not, I'm gonna let my teammate make it.
“It’s just being comfortable, being able to play fast, being able to be me, like play how I want to play within the defensive scheme with certain techniques that defensive linemen use. Being able to use the ones that meshes well with my play style, with my body, with my length. I want to be a three-down player, I don't want to come off the field.”
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 may have uncovered a monster in the middle
