A consensus All-American at Ole Miss who fell to the Cardinals at 16th overall and flashed disruptive ability before a knee injury ended his rookie year early.
Walter Nolen III arrived at Texas A&M as one of the top-rated recruits in the country before a move to Ole Miss unlocked a dominant final college season. Arizona took him with the 16th overall pick in the 2025 draft, and he made an immediate impact as a rookie before a season-ending knee injury cut his year short.
Path to the league
Nolen spent two seasons at Texas A&M before transferring to Ole Miss for 2024, where he registered 6.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss across 13 games in his lone season with the Rebels. The Cardinals selected him 16th overall in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Career highlights
Nolen earned first-team Associated Press All-American and first-team All-SEC honors in 2024 and was a finalist for the Outland Trophy. Across his college career, he totaled 114 tackles, 52 solo, and 11.5 sacks in 35 games between Texas A&M and Ole Miss.
2025 season recap
Nolen appeared in six games as a rookie before suffering a season-ending knee injury. In that limited action he recorded 11 combined tackles, two sacks, five tackles for loss, five quarterback hits, two passes defensed and a fumble recovery he returned for a touchdown against Jacksonville.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Walter Nolen
- azcardinals.com: Cardinals select Walter Nolen in first round of 2025 draft
Statistics
2025 season and career2025 Season · Defense
6 games played▶Defense · career
| Year | Team | GP | TOT | SOLO | SACK | INT | FF | FR | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | cardinals | 6 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Defensive Tackle
- Group
- defense
- College
- Ole Miss
- Hometown
- Powell, TN, USA
- Age
- 22
- Status
- active
