ORCHARD PARK — A hotshot basketball player with unbridled confidence, takes a couple dribbles into the paint, looks up and sees a teenage Deone Walker as the only obstacle in front of the hoop.
He's already a towering 6-foot-7 and 350 pounds. When he stretches his 34 ¼-inch arms to the side, he covers over 7 feet without moving. When he raises them straight in the air, he can nearly grab the rim without leaving his feet. When he does, his vertical jump is 25 inches.
Slim chance that ball is getting to the rim.
As a reserve center for Detroit powerhouse Cass Technical High School, Walker's size was incentive enough for some players not to test their luck. But there were always a few who wanted to climb the mountain. Others thought chirping would make it easier. One time the soft-spoken Walker was fed up and snapped back.
"You better Google me."
The 22-year-old Walker chuckled at his locker Thursday when recalling the incident.
"I was unhinged in high school."
Walker moonlighted in basketball, but football was clearly his top option, becoming a four-star recruit who starred at Kentucky and became a fourth-round pick of the Buffalo Bills in 2025. But Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff — who makes his living at Ford Field, less than a mile from Cass Tech — didn't have a choice but to test Walker.
Walker swatted not one, not two, but three of Goff's passes during Buffalo's' 41-31 win last week. The alternative was holding onto the ball and being engulfed by his tree limb-sized arms.
Three in one game is impressive, considering the last defensive lineman to have more in a game was New Orleans ' Cameron Jordan in 2017. But it wasn't a fluke.
Since entering the NFL last year, Pittsburgh 's Cameron Heyward (10) is the only defensive lineman with more passes defended than Walker. He's had seven in the regular season and added two more in the playoffs, with an interception of Dener's Bo Nix in the AFC divisional round.
"It just comes with looking at the right things," Walker said. "Looking at the QB, looking at the ball, the QB's hands. QBs like to pat the ball before they throw, so just using that as a sense of timing on when I should get my hands up."
Every defensive lineman is taught to put their hands up if they can't get to the quarterback. Most teams practice it, including the Bills.
Buffalo ranked in the top-10 in takeaways in eight of nine seasons under Sean McDermott because it was burned into every defensive player's brain to search for the ball. That has continued under defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard .
But being tall and practicing knocking down passes doesn't necessarily translate into results. Former Bills and current Philadelphia Eagles defensive end A.J. Epenesa ranked seventh among defensive linemen in passes defensed (21) and second in interceptions (4) during his time with Buffalo from 2020-2025.
Epenesa, a talented high school basketball player, always felt like those skills played a role in his knack for getting into passing lanes. Walker also believes his basketball background has factored into his gift.
"I do feel like it helped with me just being able to be nimble," Walker said. "Being able to play off each foot, each instep. I really do feel like it helped a lot."
Nimble is the key word when describing Walker. His footwork allows him to beat offensive linemen off the ball, to get to his superb swim move and to move subtly into position to get into the quarterback's passing lanes.
During Walker's playoff interception, the Bills trusted him enough to play spy on Nix, who is one of the league's more mobile quarterbacks. Walker's job was to fill empty rush lanes to keep him in the pocket. Nix stayed in the pocket and Walker timed his throw, snatching it out of the air.
In the season opener against the Houston Texans , Walker lined up on the right hashmark and gradually moved with Houston center Evan Brown , feeling a screen pass was coming. When Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud released the ball, Walker disengaged and grabbed running back Wally Marks just as the ball arrived.
Brown was still holding one of Walker's arms while he wrapped the other around Marks for a 2-yard loss. By the time Walker tackled Marks along the 40-yard marker, he had moved over 11 yards or just under 36 feet.
"I might hit him and I feel like he's not there," Bills right guard O'Cyrus Torrence said. "That's just because he's probably not down on his feet. He can shift to a swim-around. So it's like playing a dancing bear. He's heavy and strong and solid, but he can move quickly and agile. It's definitely a different challenge from any other D-tackle or most D-tackles in the league."
Combining Walker's agility with his height and weight — which has dropped from 335 last year to 325 this year — is what makes him so unique. Interior linemen on both sides of the ball tend to be shorter than players on the edges, all in a battle for who can create leverage.
Of the 37 defensive tackles who were named All-Pro over the last 20 seasons, their average height was just under 6-4. Only three players — Calais Campbell , DeForest Buckner and John Henderson — were taller than 6-6. Campbell (6-8) is the only one taller than Walker.
It all goes back to footwork.
"Deone's one of the players, man — once in a lifetime," Bills outside linebacker Bradley Chubb said. "... He's a huge dude and to be able to be so nimble, so quick, play so aggressive and make plays all around the field, it's going to be fun to see him continue to grow. … He's pretty good now. I can't wait to see him be great."
