Shortly after Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort used to describe Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen III after making him the 16th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the first word he used to describe the consensus All-American was ‘disruptive.’ It’s been the word that has been attached the Nolen since he the number two high school recruit in the country in 2022 behind only two-way superstar Travis Hunter.
As the Arizona Cardinals approach the start of 2025 training camp on July 22, it sounds like there are no worries that Nolen, who battled some maturity and character concerns during the pre-Draft process, will be a disruption anywhere but on the field.
“I’m not the most talkative person, but every day I’m going to come in and I’m going to handle my handle,” Nolen told reporters back in June during mandatory minicamp. “I’m not one of those people that you are going to have to worry about what’s going on. I know what I’m here for and I know what I’m going to bring to the table.”
To ease with Nolen’s transition from college to the NFL, a handful of veteran Cardinals defensive linemen have taken Nolen under the 21-year-old under their wing to help him learn the ropes and be the productive and disruptive game-wrecker they expect him to be.
“Them all my uncles, man,” Nolen said of veterans Calais Campbell and Dalvin Tomlinson, per Jason Brow of FanSided. “I’m just in there learning every day. Just being around guys like DT and Calais, I feel like they’re going to take me where I need to get.”
Cardinals Vets Offer Early Praise For Walter Nolen
Walter Nolen’s early admiration for guys like Calais Campbell and Dalvin Tomlinson, who have a combined 386 games of NFL experience to their names, is understandable. They’re a pair of veterans who have been both durable and consistent throughout their careers, which is exactly what the Cardinals hope for from their 2025 1st round pick.
But it’s not just Nolen who spent the early weeks of summer dishing out the compliments. Both Campbell and Tomlinson have spoken highly of the former Ole Miss star.
“His quickness, his pass rush, he’s just fluid,” Tomlinson said on June 16, according to Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com. “It comes natural. He’s just a natural good defensive tackle. I’m happy I’m part of the process to help him improve.”
Campbell, whose 261 career games are the second-most of any active NFL player, took the praise even further.
“He has unbelievable lateral quickness. Very few players can go kind of backdoor and to come down the line and make a [tackle for loss]. He’s one of those guys that has that unique ability where he has quickness. His quickness is at a different level, and he has good instincts,” Campbell said, per Richie Bradshaw of Sports Illustrated.
Walter Nolen Has Aaron Donald in his Crosshairs
Before the Cardinals selected Walter Nolen with the 16th overall pick in the NFL Draft back in April, Nolen turned some heads around the league when he voiced his ambition to be the next Aaron Donald. On Draft night, he doubled-down on the lofty comparison, seemingly unafraid of the expectations that would follow.
“I say Aaron Donald just because I’m built with the same things on a personal level and we have the same mentality when it comes to the D-line,” Nolen said on Draft night. “I feel like out of everybody in the class, I’m the closest to him, and I can’t wait to get out there and hopefully do better than what he did. He set the bar pretty high.”
Aaron Donald set the bar so high it’s not even visible for most players who will come into the NFL playing on the defensive line. When the time comes, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year will strut into Canton as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
But before he put together one of the greatest start to finish careers in pro football history, Donald flashed superstardom as a rookie, winning Defensive Rookie of the Year in a season in which he accumulated 48 tackles and 9 sacks. Are those numbers that are within the reach of Walter Nolen this season?
We won’t have to wait too long to find out very soon.
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