With the Cardinals’ selection of Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen at No. 16 in the NFL Draft, Arizona stuck with its perceived game plan.
Building up the defense was thought to be the Cardinals’ draft strategy, at least early in the draft. Along the way, there was a story that thought Arizona would trade down and accumulate more capital.
Highly acclaimed mock drafts suggested Arizona would look to a wide receiver, or even select an offensive tackle. But the Cardinals did not back off, even after beefing their defense in the offseason.
Since Nolen was the 16th overall pick, we present 16 things about the newest Cardinal.
1. Boom-or-bust potential: NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein considers Nolen a boom-or-bust prospect with 6.5 grade. Boom-or-bust in Zierlein’s mind is the fifth-highest ranking for draft prospects, behind 8.0 (the perfect prospect), 7.3-7.5 (perennial All-Pro), 7.0-7.1 (Pro Bowl talent) and 6.7-6.9 (Year 1 starter). Zierlien’s ranking below 6.5-6.6 is 6.40-6.49 (will become good starter within two years).
2. High school: Nolen played for three high schools — Olive Branch in Mississippi as a freshman and sophomore; Saint Benedict in Memphis as a junior; and Powell in Tennessee as a senior. Nolen helped Powell win its first state championship, the 2021 Class 5A title.
3. High school stats: According to the Nashville Tennessean, Nolen had 93 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 17 sacks and four forced fumbles at Powell. He scored six rushing touchdowns.
4. College: Nolen was considered the nation’s No. 2 recruit coming out of high school. He started his college career at Texas A&M and played two seasons for the Aggies. He played his final college season at Ole Miss, where he was a first team All-American as selected by the Associated Press.
5. College stats: Nolen had 48 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks in 13 games at Ole Miss in 2024. For his career, he had 114 tackles, 26 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks over 35 games.
6. Predraft analysis: Next Gen stats analyzes “historical NFL Combine, Pro Day and college production data to predict a prospect’s chances of success in the NFL.” Nolen was graded at 86 for Production (second among defensive tackles); 65 for Athleticism (27th among defensive tackles); and a total score of 80 (second among defensive tackles and considered a “good” score).
7. Vitals: Nolen is 6-foot-4 and 296 pounds. His arm length is 32 1/2 inches. His hand size is 9 1/2 inches. He will turn 22 on Oct. 21. He is from Powell, Tennessee.
8. Family: Nolen’s father took an active role in his son’s college recruitment, “breaking down every school’s strengths, analyzing depth charts, and making sure [he] landed in the best possible spot,” according to essentiallysports.com.
9. Pro Football Focus analysis: According to PFF, “Nolen isn’t the most polished interior defender, but he might be among the most physically gifted. If he continues to grow in his pre-snap plan and hand usage, he can be an impactful, versatile defensive tackle with a high floor due to his strength in run defense.”
10. Peter Schrager’s mock draft on ESPN: The former NFL Network analyst had Nolen going at 11 to the 49ers. He had the Cardinals taking Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron at 16.
11. Dane Brugler’s mock draft at The Athletic: “The Beast” author had Nolen going to the Texans at 25. He had the Cardinals taking Georgia edge Myken Williams at 16.
12. Mel Kiper Jr. and Field Yates’ mock draft on ESPN: They released a mock draft on April 15. They had Nolen going to the Bengals at 17. They had the Cardinals taking Barron at 16.
13. What Nick Saban said about Nolen: The former Alabama coach, now on ESPN, said, “When he wants to play, he's probably as good as anybody in this draft as an inside player.”
14. What Nolen said about being drafted by the Cardinals: “Really just that I don't love football, that I'm not a good teammate. All the negative things that people try to make come up during this process. But the Cardinals took a chance on me and I'm blessed for that and I can't wait to get there.”
15. What Nolen said to Cardinals GM Monti Ossenfort after he got drafted: “Send me that [play]book.”
16. What Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon, a former defensive coordinator, said about Nolen: “Today, the perfect world was getting in my car and Walter Nolen on our team.” Also from Gannon: “I don’t know what narratives are out there or anything like that – I make up my own mind. This guy is a Cardinal 1000 percent.”