| No. 97 – Arizona Cardinals | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Defensive end | ||||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (2003-10-14)October 14, 2003 (age 22) | ||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 300 lb (136 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Powell(Powell, Tennessee) | ||||||||||||
| College | Texas A&M (2022–2023) Ole Miss (2024) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2025: 1st round, 16th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||||||
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Walter Nolen III (born October 14, 2003) is an American professionalfootballdefensive end for theArizona Cardinals of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theTexas A&M Aggies andOle Miss Rebels, earning consensusAll-American honors with the latter in 2024. Nolen was selected by the Cardinals in the first round of the2025 NFL draft.
Nolen played high school football at three different schools:Olive Branch High School inOlive Branch, Mississippi, as a freshman and sophomore;Saint Benedict at Auburndale inMemphis as a junior; andPowell High School inPowell, Tennessee, as a senior. He also enrolled for a time atIMG Academy but did not play there.[1] His coach at Powell, Matt Lowe, described him as "a young man who has been blessed with size, speed and athleticism."[2]
In his senior year at Powell, Nolen had 93 tackles, 33 tackles for loss, 27 quarterback hurries, and 17 sacks.[3] After the season, he was invited to play in theUnder Armour All-America Game.[3] Nolen was namedUSA Today High School Defensive Football Player of the Year and was rated as the country's top recruit of the 2022 class by the same publication.[4]
Nolen was rated by ESPN as the No. 1 football recruit in the 2022 recruiting class.[5] He was ranked No. 2 byRivals.com and247Sports, behindTravis Hunter.[3][6] Nolen received offers from numerous schools and narrowed his final five to Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, and Tennessee.[1] In November 2021, Nolen committed to playcollege football for Texas A&M.[7] He later paid an official visit to Tennessee, raising speculation that his commitment was uncertain. He then signed his letter of intent with Texas A&M in December 2021.[8][9] He was part of a recruiting class at Texas A&M that was rated as the best in the history of recruiting rankings.[10]
On December 24, 2023, Nolen announced he would transfer to Ole Miss.[11] At the conclusion of the 2024 season, Nolen was named a consensus first teamAll-American.[12]
| Season | GP | Tackles | Fumbles | Interceptions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | FF | FR | Yds | TD | Int | Yds | TD | PD | ||||
| Texas A&M Aggies | |||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 10 | 29 | 17 | 12 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | 12 | 37 | 20 | 17 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Ole Miss Rebels | |||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 13 | 48 | 25 | 23 | 6.5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| Career | 35 | 114 | 62 | 52 | 11.5 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 20-yard shuttle | Bench press | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft3+3⁄4 in (1.92 m) | 296 lb (134 kg) | 32+1⁄2 in (0.83 m) | 9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | 4.76 s | 27 reps | |||||||
| All values fromNFL Combine/Pro Day[13][14] | ||||||||||||
Nolen was drafted in the first round with the 16th overall pick by theArizona Cardinals in the2025 NFL draft.[15] He began his rookie season on the reserve/PUP list due to a calf injury suffered before training camp.[16] Nolen was activated on November 3, ahead of the team's Week 9 matchup against theDallas Cowboys. In Week 12 against theJacksonville Jaguars, Nolen recorded his first career touchdown after recovering and returning aTrevor Lawrence fumble seven yards.[17] In six appearances during his rookie campaign, he recorded two pass deflections, the fumble recovery touchdown, two sacks, and 11 combined tackles. On December 22, Nolen was placed on season-endinginjured reserve due to a knee injury he suffered in Week 16 against theAtlanta Falcons.[18]