What, no Nolen?

Hard to ignore this Mississippi Rebel

When Seth yesterday posted the entire 1st round mock made by NFL scouts, did you notice that DT Walter Nolen did not make the top 32? Here’s Seth’s article:

2025 NFL Mock Draft: Options for the Arizona Cardinals with the 16th pick – Revenge of the Birds

What, no Nolen?

Blue Dot Final 4: (in alphabetical order)

• Donovan Ezeiruaku, Boston College
• Kenneth Grant, Michigan
• Walter Nolen, Mississippi
• James Pearce, Tennessee

Eagles Preying:

The Philadelphia Eagles apparently are trying to zero in on Walter Nolen as the heir apparent to Milton Williams.

Why Daniel Jeremiah doesn’t think Walter Nolen will fall to Eagles at 32 – NBC Sports Philadelphia

Over the last few weeks, a favorite name has emerged for the Eagles in mock drafts: Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen.

But he might not be there at 32 when the Eagles pick.

In fact, that’s the opinion of NFL Network lead draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, who was asked on Friday on a national conference call about the likelihood of Nolen’s lasting until 32 for the Eagles to pick him.

“I would say it’s unlikely that he falls that low,” Jeremiah said. “He’s just too explosive and in a passing league, I can’t see him getting there. But if you asked me if Nolan Smith was going to get there, I would have said no. If you would have asked me if Cooper DeJean was going to be there in the second round, I would have said no. Look, you always prepare for it, and you always be pleasantly surprised of who falls. I would not anticipate that he would drop that far.

“I think he could end up going — if he went in the top 15, I wouldn’t be shocked. Yeah, that one would surprise me if he made it all the way down. In terms of the Eagles and where they could look, I just imagine in [Howie Roseman’s] office that you just gather the offensive staff and the defensive staff and they are just lobbying for which offensive or defensive lineman they would love to have at that point.”

Nolen, 21, had a productive season at Ole Miss after playing a couple seasons at Texas A&M to start his college career. In 2024, Nolen had 6 1/2 sacks and 14 tackles for loss as a consensus All-American.

Of course, if the Eagles don’t want to sit and wait to make a pick at 32, they have plenty of draft picks to use in a potential trade-up. They have eight picks this year and are projected to have as many as 12 in the 2026 class.

Highlights:

PFF’s Assessment of Walter Nolen:

2025 NFL Draft: Player comps, strengths and weaknesses for PFF’s top 100 players

23. DI Walter Nolen, Mississippi

Player comp: Milton Williams

Strengths

Well-built player

Incredibly strong, especially with momentum. Clear raw strength and explosiveness

Has the build to play defensive end and defensive tackle

Very strong tackler with a low missed tackle rate

Good effort to the whistle

Weaknesses

Needs to be more purposeful, but looked less out of control in 2024

Lacks a go-to pass-rush move

Needs more of a pass-rush plan

Pass rushes can stall quickly

Exposes his chest too easily

Tries to disengage with just power

Lance Zierlein’s 2025 DT Grades:

1. Walter Nolen —- 6.50
2. Mason Graham —- 6.48

Brett Kollmann’s Insight:

Hmmm…