Walter Nolen III enters his second season with the kind of buzz that usually comes from a player who has already spent years proving it. For the Cardinals, though, the excitement is tied to a much smaller sample - and what he did in that brief window was loud enough to turn heads across the league.
Nolen’s rookie year never really got off the ground. A calf injury before training camp kept him sidelined for the first half of the season, and then a knee injury weeks later shut down 2025 for the former first-round pick. Even so, the six-game stretch he managed to put together showed exactly why Arizona is so invested in what comes next.
ESPN is buying into that upside, naming Nolen a breakout candidate heading into the new year. Benjamin Solak described the rookie run this way: "Every Nolen snap was like water in an oasis for Cardinals fans last season.
He struggled to get on the field (he had a calf injury in training camp) and stay on the field (he was placed on injured reserve because of a knee injury in Week 16). But in the middle of that, for 169 glorious snaps, he wreaked havoc," wrote Benjamin Solak.
Solak also pointed to the production that made the flashes impossible to ignore: "Nolen had a 14% pressure rate from the interior, second only to the Giants' Abdul Carter among all rookie defensive linemen. He had five tackles for loss, five QB hits, two sacks and a fumble recovery (for a touchdown) in the span of six games.
Splashy, splashy stuff. It's all about health and stringing together consistent days for Nolen, who very clearly has the tools of a Pro Bowl-caliber defensive tackle."
That kind of impact matters even more now because Arizona’s defensive line has changed around him. Calais Campbell is gone, Darius Robinson is being counted on to take the next step, and the additions of Roy Lopez and Andrew Billings are meant to help stabilize things. Beyond Dante Stills, there isn’t much proven play-making to lean on.
The Cardinals also have to account for the injury to fourth-round pick Kaleb Proctor, which only sharpens the focus on Nolen’s return. Arizona didn’t control the trenches often last season, but when Nolen was on the field, the defense looked different.
If he keeps moving forward and stays on track, Nolen could do more than become a key piece for the Cardinals. He could start forcing his way into the conversation among the league’s best interior defenders.
In Other News...
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The choice of opponent says plenty about how the Los Angeles market still works for the Rams. The Cardinals game is expected to bring the highest concentration of Rams fans among their home dates that season, a reminder that in a city where both the Rams and Raiders returned and left generations of fans to sort out their allegiances, visiting-team support can still shape the atmosphere in a big way. [Read more 🡒]
Paris Johnson Just Turned Up Pressure On Cardinals Future Plans
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Johnson is under contract through the 2027 season after Arizona picked up his fifth-year option, so there is no immediate contract drama on the calendar. Still, his comments about elite pass protectors being paid like the games top edge rushers put a sharper edge on the conversation around where the market is headed, and how soon a player with his profile could force the Cardinals to think about the next big deal. [Read more 🡒]
Cardinals Suddenly Have More Pressure To Resolve Jacoby Brissett Standoff
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The tension now is less about whether Brissett fits and more about how much the Cardinals want to commit while other quarterback options remain in the picture. With the team coming off recent struggles and a few different voices around the building factoring into the conversation, the front office is being asked to balance stability against caution, and that leaves Brissetts situation very much unresolved. [Read more 🡒]