2025 1st round pick 16 is Walter Nolen DT

[schutd]

20 tackles and 2.5 sacks.

That's the bar. Sign up now so we can laugh about this in 9 months.

Now give us the numbers that will make you satisfied that you got it wrong? What do you need from him in order to say, "Man, I missed on that one!"

 

[BACH]

Question do you take Landon Jackson or princely at 47? Or do you want the power right guard out of Arizona? Or neither?

Consultancy answer. It depends… Depends on how the board falls and of course how Cards have them ranked.

Princely or another Edge is probably most likely IMO as you have 2 players there that were expected in the 1st , so probably best value. But there could be a run at edge of course.

Other in that range. I think expect one of good CBs to fall. Maybe one of the WRs in the 1st round conversation is there.

On the OL choices. I would not go with the Arizona RT. There is a very large group of similar players (good big OT in college that lack the athleticism to play OT in the NFL). He just happens to be the best of that type. I expect to draft one of those in the 3rd. The one player for me to look for at OL in the 2nd is Ersery. The nerdy OL expects love his guy. Big, athletic and high production at a lower level. Floor is good G and ceiling is Elite starting RT

 

[Krangodnzr]

The thing with Mason is the wrestling background, he understands leverage more than the average player because it's so important in wrestling.

But I do like Nolen. If you look at our DL if nothing else we are VERY tall, Campbell is 6'8, we have guys in the 6'5" range like Sweat and DRob and a bunch of 6'3" guys. Might get some batted passes in addition to sacks.

My main thing is at times last year we were awful at run defense and I think Nolen, a healthy DRob, part time Calais, and of course Tomlinson is REALLY going to change that

And Sweat is a really good run defender too.

 

[CardNots]

Chris’ problem is writes dudes’ careers off after just their 1st season in the league.

he is on a roll, state your thoughts and move on…

 

[Krangodnzr]

Shane and I had a whole chat before this pick about how excited I was for this until we took a late 1st early 2nd rounder who was a huge gamble at that cost at #16.

I'm not trying to start a fight, but this just isn't true unless it's your personal projection. Nolen was universally projected as a mid first rounder, and I often saw him going right outside the top ten.

 

[eastcoastDave]

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This video shows Nolan’s ability….but Ole Miss played a cupcake schedule and most of his clips came against those teams. We see Furman, Middle Tennessee, Ga. Southern and the SEC bottom feeders S. Carolina, Arkansas, Florida and Miss. St. Only one clip was from the school’s game against Georgia. My hope is that he plays 16 years and is rookie of the year and All Pro for the other 15. But I’d like to see tape of him playing against better opponents.

 

[MadCardDisease]

2025 NFL Draft: Snap grades for all 32 teams on Day 1

Grade: A.
Arizona Cardinals

Round 1 (No. 16): DT Walter Nolen, Mississippi

Analysis:

• The Cardinals continue to rebuild their defensive line, taking Nolen after signing Calais Campbell and Dalvin Tomlinson in free agency. Campbell is 38 years old, though, so pairing Nolen with last year's first-round pick, Darius Robinson, portends a strong future up front. Nolen, who can play as a 1-, 3- or 5-technique, has the get-off, powerful hands and quickness to become a star.

 

[Yuma]

To me this is one of the biggest boom or bust guys in the draft. His floor might be a little lower than a safe pick, but he's got so much upside. It's that dreaded "potential" pick for the Cards again. However, it wouldn't surprise me either way with Nolan. He could be an all time great, or a guy we cut loose in a few seasons. This coaching staff, I'm willing to think they can coach him up.

 

[football karma]

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised

this is a draft with like 8-10 first round players, and then 40 guys all with at least one ? about their potential

I was fearful that the Cards were going guard at #16 -- but Dallas saved Monti from himself. Then i was afraid they were taking a tackle coming off a ruptured patella.

Instead, an active, penetrating defensive lineman. The one thing the Cards do (and Eagles) is rotate defensive lineman. Its nice to have depth upfront a year after having one of the worst starting D lines in the NFL

 

[MTCardinal]

I like this pick, I feel like the Cardinals were able to take advantage of the more offense-heavy than expected start of the draft. Nobody knows how good any of these guys will end up being on draft night, but I will never disagree too much with picks to build up the OL or DL. For too many years the Cardinals have been weak up front and it's painful to watch when they are. Welcome Walter, excited to see who joins him tonight!

 

[Garthshort]

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised

this is a draft with like 8-10 first round players, and then 40 guys all with at least one ? about their potential

I was fearful that the Cards were going guard at #16 -- but Dallas saved Monti from himself. Then i was afraid they were taking a tackle coming off a ruptured patella.

Instead, an active, penetrating defensive lineman. The one thing the Cards do (and Eagles) is rotate defensive lineman. Its nice to have depth upfront a year after having one of the worst starting D lines in the NFL

I know you are trying to make a point, but when you say that Dallas saved Monti from himself, I'm wondering how you know that. Are you saying that Walter was not our guy all along?

 

[QuebecCard]

He literally has questionable work ethic. It's nearly the same dude.

Back in the day, the bright lights said that Calais took plays off, was lazy, etc.

"It's nearly the same dude.'

 

[BritCard]

This video shows Nolan’s ability….but Ole Miss played a cupcake schedule and most of his clips came against those teams. We see Furman, Middle Tennessee, Ga. Southern and the SEC bottom feeders S. Carolina, Arkansas, Florida and Miss. St. Only one clip was from the school’s game against Georgia. My hope is that he plays 16 years and is rookie of the year and All Pro for the other 15. But I’d like to see tape of him playing against better opponents.

He was great against Georgia.

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[football karma]

but when you say that Dallas saved Monti from himself, I'm wondering how you know that.

speculation on my part

context: the Cards always kinda tell you pre draft what they are thinking. Its why the Gambo 5 exists -- to set expectations. The entire 98.7 crew (teams flagship radio station) was Booker, Booker, Booker by Wednesday

 

[Russ Smith]

I'm not trying to start a fight, but this just isn't true unless it's your personal projection. Nolen was universally projected as a mid first rounder, and I often saw him going right outside the top ten.

He was the consensus guy to SF at 11 for example. 49er fans on my feed are all mad they didn't pick him. They got Mykel Williams who many thought we would end up with

 

[Carolinacacti]

I thought the Panthers were going to take Nolan. I wonder if there owner made the pick. Love T- Mac but...

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Now give us the numbers that will make you satisfied that you got it wrong? What do you need from him in order to say, "Man, I missed on that one!"

I set the over under so that's the low bar.

I don't see anyone lining up to take it but to answer your question double it and it's a great pick.

Production scale:

Under both - terrible pick.

One over - maybe pick

Both over - good pick

Either double - great pick.

 

[CardNots]

By draft day after absorbing the information on this board, numerous comments and projections I was surprised Nolen was available at 16.

 

[Proximo]

None of those guys are stars. Paris and Williams are good players. Harrison was painfully mediocre.



None of those are good starters. One of them isnt even a starter as Melton is our number 4 CB).



None of these guys have proven ANYTHING. Robinson made ZERO impact last year. BJ looked okay for 3 out of 34 games he’s been in the league and is coming off a major knee injury. And Taylor-Demison hasn’t proven anything either.



His draft record is yet to be determined. Calling it good is completely unfounded projection and nothing more.

You apparently don't understand that:

Harrison had better stats than Fitz and his father - two top 10 receivers of all time his rookie season - so it is insane to write him off as mediocre.

There is almost always improvement from a players rookie season - if they just look half way competent that is a very good sign

50% of draft picks are busts league wide - as in out of the league before their first contract is even over.

Every guy I listed is not going to be a bust - and that is over 50% of Monti's picks.

 

[Russ Smith]

What I like watching the highlights is the ability to penetrate. So often the last 2 years our DL was just physically overmatched so teams can just line up and run at us and we can't stop it. Nolen gives us a kid who can beat his man, who can get skinny and get through a gap, and who gets into the backfield.

Graham was the dream guy but he was gone

 

[BulldogCard]

I like Nolen's quickness on his tape. CC should be a great mentor for an already talented player and other players on the DL as well.

 

[PDXChris]

Question do you take Landon Jackson or princely at 47? Or do you want the power right guard out of Arizona? Or neither?

Tate Ratledge!

 

[Proximo]

speculation on my part

context: the Cards always kinda tell you pre draft what they are thinking. Its why the Gambo 5 exists -- to set expectations. The entire 98.7 crew (teams flagship radio station) was Booker, Booker, Booker by Wednesday

Booker was a smokescreen. They were never going to draft him.

 

[Totally_Red]

Booker was a smokescreen. They were never going to draft him.

Agree. Booker told Tom Pellisaro that he thought Dallas would take him.

 

[Mr. Boldin]

No, it isn't. You can look as much as you want and while you will read "concerns" over and over what you won't find are direct quotes from anybody as to anything specific about his work ethic

Go ahead and try to find one former coach or teammate who has ever called him lazy. I have multiple times. Including just last week.

For the record, I love this pick. Here is a small bit of insight from Haller at The Athletic:

As the draft approached, concerns about Nolen’s character surfaced. One in particular questioned his practice habits and whether he was a good teammate. Asked about this, Joyner said Nolen was a fierce competitor, a young player who was far from perfect but one who was willing to learn. The defensive lineman wanted to be coached and he responded.

Gannon — who stresses football character as much as ability — said he has no doubt Nolen will fit into Arizona’s culture. During pre-draft visits, he noticed the defensive tackle had a quiet confidence. He almost came off as shy. But Gannon said he soon came to realize that Nolen had a good heart and strong determination.

“He gets his hat on the ball and the guy plays with extreme motor — that tells me he loves football,” Gannon said. “When you see a guy that’s playing 50 to 60 snaps in a college game — not huddling, on the ball — and he’s running down screens and getting out of the stack and trying to dump people and putting his face in the pile, that jumps out on the tape. … That’s all I really needed to see.”