One of the great things about NFL training camps — across all 32 teams — is the undrafted free agents who make 53-man rosters.
The Buffalo Bills might have 1 of those coming down the pipe with cornerback Kani Walker, who continues to draw raves after 2 weeks and as the Bills head into the preseason opener against the Carolina Panthers on August 15.
“Rookie undrafted free agent CB Kani Walker continues to be a surprise in camp,” ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg wrote on Sunday.
Walker, 6-foot-2 and 203 pounds, played for 3 colleges in 5 seasons. He started his career off with 1 season at Louisville, followed by 3 seasons at Oklahoma, and ended his career at Arkansas in 2025.
“One undrafted rookie who has impressed early during Bills training camp is CB Kani Walker,” Bills reporter Alex Brasky wrote on his official X account on August 1. “BUF needs depth at the position Walker has been making a strong play for consideration.”
Draft Stock Cratered With Disastrous Pro Day
It’s not hard to figure out why Walker wasn’t drafted — a disastrous Pro Day performance in which his testing numbers lined up more with an inside linebacker or slower safety than with a cornerback.
Walker ran the 40-yard dash in 4.58 seconds, with a 33.5-inch vertical leap and a 10-foot-1-inch broad jump.
On the field — where actual football is played — Walker’s numbers in 2025 show a player at his best in his final season, with career highs of 52 tackles, 11 pass deflections, and 1 interception returned 89 yards for a touchdown against Auburn.
Walker’s connection to the Bills came through cornerbacks coach Jay Valai, who was the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma during Walker’s 3 seasons playing for the Sooners.
“I’m never going to lose what I felt on draft day because it was an emotional moment for me,” Walker told The Niagara Gazette’s Nick Sabato. “Of course everybody dreams of getting drafted and going to the NFL and chasing their dream. But I felt like there was a lot of teams that didn’t believe in me. It put a real fuel under me.”
Buffalo Bills Selected 2 Cornerbacks in NFL Draft
Walker is trying to make a play to be the 4th or 5th cornerback on the roster. Christian Benford and former 1st-round pick Maxwell Hairston are the only holdovers from last season and the “penciled in” starters according to general manager Brandon Beane.
The Bills selected 2 cornerbacks in the 2026 NFL Draft with Ohio State’s Davison Igbinosun in the 2nd round (No. 62 overall) and Missouri’s Torian Pride Jr. in the 7th round (No. 220 overall).
Hairston’s inability to stay healthy in training camp has created opportunities for Igbinosun and Walker to make lasting impressions early.
“The Bills moved up four spots, giving up a sixth-round pick in the process, to add (Igbinosun),” Getzenberg wrote in April. “The move shows a team trend: investing in draft picks on the defensive side of the ball. In the past six drafts, 13 of the 19 picks the Bills have made in the first four rounds have been defensive players (including six straight). An area to watch for Igbinosun is penalties. In 2024, he was the most-penalized defender in the FBS, getting flagged 16 times in coverage. He did improve in 2025, however, being penalized only five times in coverage.”
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