Former Kentucky Wildcats Receive Second Round NFL Draft Grade

NFL Draft scouts, both on the media and front office side of the aisle, spent the last week evaluating prospects at the Shrine Game in Dallas and Senior Bowl in Mobile. After watching the prospective draft picks compete against one another in full pads, we have a better idea of the early pecking order ahead of April’s NFL Draft in Green Bay.

Maxwell Hairston and Deone Walker each spent the week in Mobile at the Senior Bowl. The two former Kentucky Wildcats had their fair share of eye-opening moments. The cornerback probably gets the nod for the best week of the two.

ESPN’s Field Yates described Hairston as “the best man-to-man corner throughout the entire week.” Another ESPN Draft analyst, Matt Miller, shared his first two-round mock draft of the season. Hairston is off the board at No. 45 overall to the Indianapolis Colts.

Maxwell Hairston (CB, Kentucky) with the diving pass defended near the end of 1v1s at the #SeniorBowl! @AtoZSportsNFL pic.twitter.com/ZhLHqQOamC

— Travis May (@FF_TravisM) January 28, 2025

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Something You Didn’t Know About Deone Walker

The SEC adopted availability reports for the 2024 season. Even though they let us know who would or wouldn’t play for Kentucky, they did not let us know why.

It came to light following the Ole Miss game that Hairston was watching the game from the hospital. There was no official comment, but it was a dangerous infection that took him off the field for nearly two months. Mark Stoops precariously tiptoed around the health of Deone Walker. “He’s dealing with some stuff” was always the line, yet he played through it, even if he wasn’t playing at his best.

None of that stuff can be kept a secret in the NFL Draft process. This week in Mobile, we learned the primary culprit was a back injury for Big Deone. His measurables are off the charts, but that injury will be closely monitored by teams who are eyeing the defensive tackle, described by Matt Miller as “a bulldozer wearing shoulder pads.” He has Walker going off the board in the second round to the Houston Texans at No. 58 overall.

“Fixing the trenches is the theme of this draft in Houston,” writes Miller. “Walker played through a back injury in 2024 that has to be monitored, but he’s nearly 6-foot-8 and 350 pounds with great pass-rush tools. He had 7.5 sacks in 2023 before falling to 1.5 this past season.”