NFL Combine Preview: What’s at stake for Kentucky’s Deone Walker and Maxwell Hairston?

The second big event of draft season has finally arrived. We’re all patiently awaiting the most popular job fair in the world to get here at the end of April when Green Bay hosts the 2025 NFL Draft, but first, the entire league will take over Indianapolis for the biggest week in the offseason for the National Football League.

Early conversations regarding free agent contract structures, trade discussions, networking, and much more will occur in the hotel lobbies, coffee shops, restaurants, bars, and suites at Lucas Oil Field throughout the week. The week where everyone in the league is in the same town is a time when a lot of business is done. Some — or most — of that business will occur in the scouting department.

NFL coaching staffs have now had multiple weeks to dive all-in on the scouting process and now will get to meet prospects face-to-face this week in Indianapolis. That part is very important but the medical evaluations done this week in Indy are just as important. There is also the on-field testing that will be used in each prospect’s evaluation. Does the tape match the eyes? Or does the tape not match the eyes?

It’s a big week in the football world. KSR will be here throughout the event to provide coverage. What could we learn over the next few days as the activities begin in Indianapolis?

Let’s dive in.

A big week for Maxwell Hairston

Maxwell Hairston went four-and-done at Kentucky and made a splash at the Senior Bowl. Despite missing most of Kentucky’s SEC games in 2024, buzz has not slowed down for the second-team All-SEC selection in 2023. We’ve seen some first-round buzz for the former three-star recruit arise after a strong performance in Mobile at the Senior Bowl.

Travis Hunter (Colorado), Will Johnson (Michigan), and Jahdae Barron (Texas) are seen as the top three cornerbacks in this draft but CB4 is up for grabs. There could be a spot at the end of the opening round for that prospect.

Hairston is in the mix for that opening along with Shavon Revel Jr. (East Carolina), Azareye’h Thomas (Florida State), and Benjamin Morrison (Notre Dame). Revel and Morrison are each coming off season-ending injuries that are could cause them to fall in the draft and make the medical testing done this week even more important.

A big athletic testing week in Indianapolis could give the Kentucky cornerback a great shot at going off the board in the first round.

Perhaps no position more than cornerback gets significant mileage out of the speed and explosive athletic testing during the combine and pro day circuit. Top end speed, height, and arm length matters a big deal in coverage. Hairston measured in at 5-foot-11 with a wingspan reaching 6-foot-4 with a strong arm length (31 1/2″) in Mobile. The size box has been checked.

Will the speed and explosiveness boxes be checked at the Scouting Combine? Hairston has more than a decent shot to sneak into the first round if they are. As long as the cornerback avoids a bad performance, the floor feels like the second round. Hairston is primed to become the third Kentucky defensive back in the last five years to go off the board before the end of the second round.

What’s at stake for Deone Walker?

The early returns of the draft process have not been great for Kentucky’s star defensive tackle. Deone Walker entered this season as a potential top-10 pick and now might be falling into the third round range. The former blue-chip recruit out of Detroit (Mich.) Cass Tech saw his on-field production take a noticeable step back during his junior year and the Senior Bowl week didn’t seem to help Walker a ton.

There are concerns about pad level and what Walker could be a run stopper at the NFL level. There is also the position conundrum as Walker (6-7, 340) has the size of a nose tackle but might be better suited playing a pass-rushing three-technique role.

Will teams be willing to picture him playing that way? In meetings with organizations this week in Indianapolis, making a good in-person impression could go a long way. Posting solid testing scores will also help. The size already jumps off the page.

Will the NFL really let a defensive lineman this big with excellent pass rush production get out of the second round? That is something I have been asking myself as Walker’s stock appears to fall. This week will give the Kentucky product a chance to lock-in a spot in that second round.

A loaded defensive line class

Part of the reason we are seeing Walker’s stock fall is because of the competition in this class. The 2025 draft haul is loaded on the defensive line.

Abdul Carter (EDGE, Penn State) might go No. 1 overall. Mason Graham (iDL, Michigan) could be a top-five pick. Jalon Walker (LB/EDGE, Georgia) could be a top-10 selection. Mike Green (EDGE, Marshall), Shemar Stewart (EDGE, Texas A&M), Mykel Williams (EDGE, Georgia), Derrick Harmon (iDL, Oregon), James Pearce Jr. (EDGE, Tennessee), Kenneth Grant (iDL, Michigan), and Walter Nolen (iDL, Ole Miss) are all showing up in most first-round mock drafts. Tyleik Williams (iDL, Ohio State), Donovan Ezeiruaku (EDGE, Boston College), JT Tuimoloau (EDGE, Ohio State), Jack Sawyer (EDGE, Ohio State), Alfred Collins (iDL, Texas), Landon Jackson (EDGE, Arkansas), Shemar Turner (iDL, Texas A&M), Jordan Burch (EDGE, Oregon), Nic Scourton (EDGE, Texas A&M), and T.J. Sanders (iDL, South Carolina) all project to be early-to-mid second-round selections.

That means that the draft has to get through a lot of players on the defensive front before getting to Walker. The Kentucky product did not have a great junior campaign, but a big part of the reason we are seeing his stock fall so much is due to how loaded this draft is along the defensive front.

Carter and Graham are blue-chip picks, but the high-quality depth in this draft is extremely high. It’s a good year to enter this process needing defensive line help. Expect the depth of the defensive line to be a talking point all week in Indy.