The NFL Draft gave Bills fans a lot more clarity on some various positions that fans had questions about. Whether it’s because they drafted certain players, or didn’t draft for a certain position early on, we now know a little bit more than we did a week ago.
The theme of Buffalo’s draft was bringing in more defensive help, just like they did last season. With the switch to a 3-4 defense under Jim Leonhard, the Bills needed to bring in help for him to make this new scheme work. While Buffalo had some playmakers already, they needed more and they definitely added some positions of need.
One area that they didn’t spend a draft pick early on was the defensive line, where they only brought in one defensive lineman in Zane Durant, and it wasn’t until the end of the 5th round. With only one draft pick being a defensive lineman, that gave the Bills a pretty good sense on who would be the nose tackle and Brandon Beane told WGR550 exactly what fans wanted to know about Deone Walker's role in the defense.
Brandon Beane gives the answer Bills fans already knew about Deone Walker
According to Sal Capaccio, Beane said that "If we trotted the ball out right now, Deone (Walker) is going to start at nose for us. But can I tell you if Deone's going to be a better nose or a better 4i? I can't totally answer that. I think that's TBD as we move along." said Beane.
"If we trotted the ball out right now, Deone (Walker) is going to start at nose for us. But can I tell you if Deone's going to be a better nose or a better 4i? I can't totally answer that. I think that's TBD as we move along." - Brandon Beane on @WGR550 who says they want as many…
— Sal Capaccio 🏈 (@SalSports) April 27, 2026
While the Bills should still be looking to add another defensive tackle going into the summer, having Walker in the middle of the trenches is the best idea possible because of the size he has, and the production he had last season as a rookie who didn’t have a ton of big expectations going into the season.
Standing at 6-foot-7 and 331lbs, Walker has the size to command double-team blocks which is great for Jim Leonhard’s scheme. He will be able to create a mess and that would allow linebackers to fly in with aggression and make plays.
Beane saying that Walker would be the nose tackle as of today is the smart route to go. He outplayed his draft spot last year by a mile and now that he has experience under his belt, he should be able to only go up from here.
Add us as a preferred source on Google