Deone Walker Appears on Mel Kiper's First NFL Draft Big Board

We have just finished the first quarter of the 2024 college football season, but some sports fans already have their eyes on what will happen next spring at Lambeau Field, the site of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Mel Kiper surfaced from his bunker on Thursday morning to share his first Big Board for the 2025 NFL Draft. Deone Walker first caught the eyes of scouts as a true freshman. Kiper is among the many who believe he will be a first-rounder in April, although he’s not sold on the defensive tackle as a top-ten pick. Walker is the No. 23 overall player on Kiper’s first Big Board.

“Thanks to his gap-filling 6-foot-6 frame, Walker recorded 22 run stops and 17 tackles for loss over the 2022-23 seasons,” writes Kiper. “He’s more than just a run stuffer, though, as he has an impressive array of pass-rush moves for a defensive tackle of his size and finished last season with 7.5 sacks. He’s scheme-versatile, too.”

Kiper ranks Walker as the third-ranked defensive tackle prospect in the class, behind two players from Michigan, Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant. Kentucky faced the top-ranked quarterback a week ago and will travel to face the second-ranked QB later in the season, Quinn Ewers. Next week’s foe, Jaxson Dart, is the No. 7 in Kiper’s QB position rankings.

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Has Mel Kiper Lost His Mind?

Kiper made his rounds through the ESPN shows to discuss his Big Board. He also used that opportunity to unleash a few takes. This one is a doozy.

.@MelKiperESPN believes two-high safeties "should be outlawed" 👀

"The NFL is being ruined by these two-high safeties." pic.twitter.com/d65PFJysIq

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) September 19, 2024

Wide receivers have never been more skilled or more athletic. Quarterbacks have never been more protected. And after two weeks of NFL football, touchdowns are down, so Mel Kiper wants to handicap defenses even further by eliminating a defense’s ability to play two-high safeties. It’s one of the most preposterous suggestions I’ve ever heard.

Imagine telling this to coaches like Mark Stoops or Kirby Smart who use big-play prevention as the cornerstone of their defense. This is just a hilarious idea, but you know what, good for Mel. We typically only hear him around NFL Draft time. I’m all for letting him satellite in once in a blue moon to provide the craziest takes on the internet.

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