With the 16th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, the Arizona Cardinals selected Ole Miss DL Walter Nolen.
Nolen had been frequently connected with the Cardinals in the pre-draft process meeting with the team at the Combine and on a private 30 visit. Apparently, the front office headed by general manager Monti Ossenfort liked what they saw and heard from the dominant defensive lineman.
On social media, Cardinals fans have been split on who they wanted at No. 16 and in an odd draft class not many pundits seemed to have a crystal clear view of exactly what the team would do in the middle of the draft.
One who did have Nolen in heavy contention to be the pick was John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM who included him in his annual "Gambo 5", a list of prospects the Cardinals are most interested in selecting.
Once the Cardinals sent in the pick, fans on X were quick to give their opinions on the most recent addition to a completely reworked defensive line that will now include a first round pick from last year, Darius Robinson, as well as Dalvin Tomlinson and a legend of the game, Calais Campbell in his second stint in Glendale.
Fans were also not the only one getting in on the action. Current and former players and sports media personalities were happy to share their opinions on the big man from Ole Miss.
Cardinals quarterback, Kyler Murray, who has had strong opinions about what his team should do on draft night in the past had this to say after the pick:
Lance Zierlein, one of the NFL world's top draft analysts, had predicted the Cardinals would select G Tyler Booker (Alabama) at No. 16 in his most recent mock draft. However, the Cowboys took Booker at No. 12 and Zierlein still had high praise for the Nolen selection.
PHNX Sports included a post showing Cardinals fans reacting to the Nolen selection:
Head coach Jonathan Gannon also made his pleasure with the selection very clear with a memorable quote about how he wanted his dream draft night to go, reported by Arizona Sports' Tyler Drake:
The general reaction to the Nolen pick seems to be overwhelmingly positive across social media, a good sign that the majority of fans trust the new regime headed by Ossenfort and Gannon, even with a player that had circulating reports about his mentality and work ethic.
Nolen will come into a Cardinals defensive line room with venerable veterans of the game like Tomlinson and Campbell; a chance to truly learn from the best.
There is an element of high risk, high reward to this pick but the current reaction of the fanbase and sports world is that Arizona might have snagged one of the best defensive players in this draft class when all is said and done.
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