Kentucky could see two players become second round picks at NFL Draft

The NFL playoffs are still ongoing. College football’s national championship game takes place on Monday night in Atlanta when Ohio State faces Notre Dame. The football season has not ended but that is not stopping draft season from getting started.

Are you ready for mock drafts? Well, you better be. The Athletic’s Dane Brugler published a two-round mock on Wednesday that included the Tennessee Titans getting a new quarterback at No. 1 overall. The exercise also had two Kentucky players coming off the board in the second round.

Brugler has Kentucky defensive tackle Deone Walker going off the board at No. 50 overall to the Seattle Seahawks and Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston going to the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 52 overall.

The Kentucky program has produced six day two (rounds 2-3) draft picks over the last three years and will likely produce a couple more in April when the draft heads to Green Bay.

Deone Walker went three-and-done at Kentucky out of Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech. The massive defensive tackle (6-6, 345) started in 36 of 37 games (1,803 career snaps) played in Lexington and finished his collegiate career with 132 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, and 97 pressures. Walker’s best season occurred as a sophomore when he earned first-team All-SEC honors.

Maxwell Hairston spent four seasons at Kentucky and is another Greater Detroit native. The cornerback played in 32 career games (1,068 career snaps) and earned 20 starting assignments. Hairston, a former three-star recruit, finished his collegiate career with 89 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 10 pass breakups, six interceptions, and three forced fumbles. Hairston missed five games as a redshirt junior in 2024, but earned second-team All-SEC honors in 2023.

Both players will report to the Senior Bowl at the end of the month for the biggest showcase event of the pre-draft process.