2025 NFL Mock Draft: Seattle Seahawks Take Kentucky DL Deone Walker

The Seattle Seahawks are beefing up their defensive line in the latest NFL mock draft.

Jeremy Brener | Jul 11, 2024

Clemson Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik (2) is sacked by Kentucky Wildcats defensive lineman Deone Walker (0) during the third quarter of an NCAA football matchup in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Clemson Tigers edged the Kentucky Wildcats 38-35. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Unio / USA

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Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks are set to begin training camp in a few weeks, but so too are the thousands of colleges and high schools preparing for their fall seasons.

Some of the very best at the high school and collegiate level will be preparing to take a leap to the next level in 2025, and teams in the NFL will also have an eye on those top NCAA prospects.

Bleacher Report writer Brent Sobleski conducted a mock draft with some of the best college and high school prospects. With the No. 12 pick in the draft, the Seahawks went the SEC route, taking Kentucky defensive lineman Deone Walker.

"Kentucky's Deone Walker is something completely different. He's a 6'6", 348-pound force of nature, who can command the middle of the line of scrimmage," Sobleski writes. "Walker placed between Williams and Jones, with Murphy rotating in as a premium interior pass-rusher, can give Seattle the type of tone-setting defense that new head coach Mike Macdonald can deploy to offset the offensive geniuses (Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay) found within the NFC West."

The Seahawks have already invested a top pick in the defensive line with Byron Murphy II, the No. 16 pick in this year's draft, but Seattle could soon form a surplus of top talent at the position by investing another pick here. It's also possible under this scenario that the team would move on from Jones, who has a massive cap hit in the final year of his contract in 2025.

Walker recorded 7.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss last season with the Wildcats, and if he has another season like that in 2024 at Kentucky, he should be one of the top prospects entering the draft next spring.

Published Jul 11, 2024

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.