Tag: Walter Nolen

Bengals’ Duke Tobin spotted getting close look at top NFL draft prospect

The Bengals seem to have a close eye on a specific name at the Senior Bowl.

NFL mock drafts already have the Cincinnati Bengals keying on Ole Miss interior defensive lineman Walter Nolen.

It would appear the Bengals themselves like the idea, too.

As pointed out in footage from the Senior Bowl, courtesy of the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway, Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin was getting a close look at Nolen during drills.

RELATED: Horrific Cincinnati Bengals injury update changes draft plans

We could handwave this as due diligence on top prospects and move on to something else, sure.

But this one feels notable. The defense needs an overhaul under returning yet new coordinator Al Golden and still needs to massage the wound of losing DJ Reader.

A disruptive, 6’3″, 304-pound-prospect like Nolen would fit nicely in a multi-front attack already boasting prospects Kris Jenkins Jr. and McKinnley Jackson

If mock drafts weren’t enough, Tobin himself getting a close look should clue in fans to keeping tabs on Nolen all spring.

 

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49ers get steal of the draft in 2-round NFL mock

The 49ers would LOVE if the NFL draft shook out this way.

The San Francisco 49ers have a path in this year’s draft to resetting their offensive and defensive lines for long-term success.

In 2024 they struggled in the trenches on both sides of the ball, highlighting their need to revamp both of those units. Free agency should be a factor for the short-term. Long-term fixes should come via the NFL draft, and a new mock draft from our friends at the Draft Wire outlines a way San Francisco can land two quality linemen in the first two rounds.

In Round 1, the 49ers select LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell, who might be the best OT in the class. A glut of talent at other positions allows Campbell to slide all the way to them at the No. 11 overall pick.

Campbell has the requisite size to play OT in the NFL. LSU lists him at 6-6, 323 pounds. He started all 38 games he played across three seasons with the Tigers and was a consensus All-American in the 2024 season. All 38 of his starts came at left tackle, which may be a requirement if the 49ers are going to use their first-round pick on a tackle. Although Campbell is good enough that he’d be an easy pick regardless of which side of the line he played on.

The ideal scenario is one where Campbell plays on the right side and provides an upgrade over RT Colton McKivitz, then flips over to his natural left side once Trent Williams retires.

This would be a home-run selection for San Francisco.

In the second round they jump to the other side of the ball where they scoop up Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen.

Nolen only played three years of college and improved every season, culminating in a breakout 2024 campaign with the Rebels where he was outstanding against the run while racking up 35 tackles and six sacks per Pro Football Focus.

He’s listed at 6-3, 305 pounds and he looks to have the athleticism to play multiple spots on the defensive line. It’s a bit of a risk for San Francisco since Nolen was a little inconsistent as a pass rusher during his first two years with Texas A&M, but he was always effective against the run. PFF had him down for only five missed tackles in 35 career games.

There’s a ton of upside for a player with Nolen’s size and skill set, and landing him in the middle of the second round would be an excellent way for the 49ers to round out their first couple of picks.

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10 players for Packers fans to monitor on American roster during Senior Bowl week

Who should Packers fans know from the Senior Bowl’s American roster? Here are 10 players, including Ole Miss CB Trey Amos.

It’s officially Senior Bowl week and the NFL world has converged on Mobile, Alabama. Since 2022, Brian Gutekunst has selected 18 players who competed at the Senior Bowl, including using eight of the 11 picks during the 2024 NFL Draft that were down in Mobile.

It’s a safe bet that Green Bay’s general manager will use a handful of picks in April on players he’ll get a close look at this week down in Mobile.

Let’s look at 10 players from the American roster that could be high on Green Bay’s board. If you missed it, here are the linebackers and edge rushers on the American roster that could be on Green Bay’s radar, and the wide receivers.

Trey Amos, CB, Ole Miss

The Alabama transfer finished this past season with four tackles for loss, three interceptions and 13 pass deflections. Amos has an ideal frame and a track background. The Ole Miss cornerback is smooth, instinctive and uses his length to choke passing lanes.

Walter Nolen, DT, Ole Miss

The Texas A&M transfer recorded 14 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and 35 pressures during his lone season at Ole Miss. He has excellent quickness and change of direction skills. Nolen has an explosive first step and would provide Green Bay with a disruptive interior force.

Quincy Riley, CB, Louisville

Riley is a former track athlete who plays the ball like a wide receiver. He finished his career at Louisville with eight interceptions and 27 pass deflections. He plays through the hands of wide receivers at the catch point.

Jackson Slater, OL, Sacramento State

Slater finished his career at Sacramento State with 44 career starts, 42 at left guard and two at left tackle. Slater shows good initial quickness to fly out of his stance. He’s efficient in his pass sets and coordinated in his shuffle. Throughout the past two seasons, Slater gave up zero sacks and 14 pressures.

Garrett Dellinger, OL, LSU

Dellinger finished his career at LSU with 25 starts at left guard, three at left tackle and one at center. He has strong hands to control blocks and can move defenders with his raw power. In seven games this past season, the versatile LSU lineman gave up zero sacks and three pressures.

Miles Frazier, OL, LSU

Frazier started his college career at Florida International and finished his collegiate career with 28 starts at right guard, 11 at left tackle, nine at left guard and one at right tackle. This past season, Frazier gave up zero sacks and 13 pressures.

Emery Jones Jr, OL, LSU

Jones finished his time at LSU with 36 starts at right tackle. With his build, Jones looks every bit the part of an NFL offensive lineman. He plays with a bit of a mean streak as a run blocker. This past season Jones gave up one sack and 28 pressures.

Jackson Hawes, TE, Georgia Tech

Hawes might be the best blocking tight end in this draft class. He blocks his tail off and could be an ideal tight end to play behind Tucker Kraft and Luke Musgrave. The Yale transfer loves to bury the man across from him. He has 454 special team snaps to his name and recorded nine tackles.

T.J. Sanders, DT, South Carolina

Sanders rushes with burst and power to get upfield quickly. He has the lateral athleticism to make plays up and down the line of scrimmage. Sanders shows good pursuit speed and finished this past season with 24 run stops.

Brashard Smith, RB, SMU

A converted wide receiver, Smith is a fluid athlete who can string together moves to weave through traffic. As a former wide receiver, he can track the ball away from his body and catch and go without throttling down.

Bengals grab a fast-rising ‘disruptor’ in expert’s first mock draft

The Bengals go with a top prospect for their new defensive coordinator.

In a recent first annual mock draft from ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., the Cincinnati Bengals took a risk that didn’t seem necessary.

But in a first annual mock draft from another expert, the Bengals get new defensive coordinator Al Golden some help at a key spot in a way fans will like.

There, the Bengals stick at No. 17 and grab Ole Miss interior defensive lineman Walter Nolen, courtesy of NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah: “Nolen is a dynamic interior disruptor. He would be a key part of a turnaround under new Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden.”

RELATED: Bengals’ key free agent changes reps before trip to market

Nolen would be a fantastic pick and represent the Bengals tripling down on attempting to fix the interior of the line after losing DJ Reader.

After racking up 6.5 sacks last year, Nolen’s explosive, 6’3″, 304-pound frame would join the rotation with sophomores Kris Jenkins Jr. and McKinnley Jackson and make the front more dynamic.

As Bengals fans are fully aware since the Geno Atkins days, a reliable, consistent pass rush up the middle makes the lives of the defensive ends easier, too, so Nolen could help fix two things at once for the rebuilding defense.

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Dolphins’ top 2025 draft prospects: Ole Miss DT Walter Nolen

Zach Sieler needs a long-term running mate on the Dolphins defense line. Could Walter Nolen be the answer?

Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen is a 2024 All-American and a surefire first-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft. The well-decorated defensive force started his collegiate career at Texas A&M where he played two seasons before transferring to Ole Miss.

In his senior year at Mississippi, Nolen led the team in tackles for loss with 14 and was fourth in sacks with 6.5. The versatile lineman lined up all over the defensive front, and showed he can be a run-stopper as well as a viable pass-rusher.

On the edge, Nolen has quickness and speed and uses his power well. If he plays inside, he has the strength to collapse the pocket and make life difficult for quarterbacks.

Nolen is everything you want in a do-it-all defensive tackle and has the ferocity and physicality to dominate immediately. Nolen is a potential Pro Bowl talent and a top 15 prospect in the draft class.

Position: Defensive tackle
Projected round: 1st
Height: 6’3
Weight: 305

Fit for Miami

The Dolphins may lose veteran Calais Campbell to retirement or free agency. Furthermore, they have other players across the defensive line, like Benito Jones and Da’Shawn Hand, set to hit the market. Veteran Zach Sieler is one of the more underrated and productive defensive tackles in the league, and if Miami added Nolen to the line, it could wreak havoc on opposing offenses.

Nolen’s versatility and Sieler’s consistency could make for a potent pair up front for the Dolphins. Should Campbell retire or depart, the Dolphins will need to address the line one way or another.

Bottom line

The last time Dolphins general manager Chris Grier used the No. 13 overall pick he drafted Clemson defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. Miami let Wilkins hit the free agency market last offseason and he joined the Las Vegas Raiders.

While Campbell was a more than adequate replacement, it was only a temporary one with his retirement looming.

If Campbell hangs up the cleats, Nolen could be a great match with Sieler to create yet another tandem of tackles in Miami.

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2025 mock draft: 49ers hammer trenches in 2-round projection

Offensive line. Defensive line. Rinse. Repeat.

The San Francisco 49ers’ list of needs in the 2025 NFL draft may not change much even after free agency shakes out.

They badly need to revamp their offensive and defensive lines. The order in which they do those and how they prioritize them will depend on how the draft board shakes out, but a draft where they spend every pick bolstering the trenches shouldn’t be out of the question.

San Francisco goes after a player on each line in a new two-round mock draft from the Athletic’s Dane Brugler.

Brugler has the 49ers addressing the offensive line first with Missouri’s Armand Membou. Here’s what Brugler wrote about the versatile OL:

Based on the players expected to be available in this range, there is a decent chance the 49ers use this pick to address the trenches, either on the offensive or defensive line. Membou is incredibly underrated, but he plays with exceptional control, athleticism and finish. He would give San Francisco an ascending player with guard-tackle versatility.

A lineman with inside/outside versatility fits what San Francisco has been looking for with their OL selections for the last couple of years. Membou is listed at 6-3, 325 pounds which probably lands him as a guard in the NFL. However, he did play both tackle spots in college and primarily spent time at right tackle where he was the starter for the Tigers in 2023 and 2024. It’s not out of the question he transitions there as a pro, but it would appear he’s more likely to take over at left guard where 49ers starter Aaron Banks is set to hit free agency.

Using the No. 11 pick on a guard doesn’t necessarily fit the 49ers’ team-building strategy during the Kyle Shanahan-John Lynch era, but given the necessity to revamp the OL it may mean a shift away from their previous strategies if they think Membou can step in and be a Pro Bowl caliber starter.

The 49ers get to the other side of the ball in Round 2 of Brugler’s mock. They select Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen at No. 43 overall.

Nolen is a player who has been mocked to the 49ers before in a one-round mock. The 43rd pick seems like a much better spot to take a shot on Nolen, who had only one year of big-time college production.

His first two college seasons were with Texas A&M, and he did have a strong second season with the Aggies in 2023. That year he posted seven sacks on 16 pressures while working as a productive run defender according to Pro Football Focus.

He broke out in 2024 with 34 pressures and six sacks. His elite run defense grade from PFF was buoyed by his 31 run stops.

There are definitely some questions around Nolen after only one year of high-end production, but the upside is extremely high. The opportunity to find a three-down defensive tackle who can affect the pocket as a pass rusher would be tough for San Francisco to pass up with its second pick in a draft where they need to find DL help.

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49ers add Ole Miss DT in mock draft by company supporting Jets GM search

Defensive line is a popular position for the 49ers to pick in mock drafts.

The defensive line has been a popular need for the San Francisco 49ers to fill in early mock drafts.

That’s the exact route they go in a mock draft done by the 33rd Team, the NFL technology and media company hired to support the New York Jets search for a general manager.

A couple of Michigan defensive tackles have been 49ers targets in recent mocks, but this time they go down to the SEC where they select Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen.

Nolen is listed at 6-3, 305 pounds and put together a couple of stellar years as both a run stopper and a pass rusher.

He spent his first two years at Texas A&M before transferring to Ole Miss for the 2024 campaign. During his second year at A&M he logged seven sacks on 16 pressures according to Pro Football Focus, but he really broke out this year with the Rebels. In 13 games he logged 34 pressures and six sacks, along with 31 run stops per PFF. The football analytics site also graded him out as an elite run defender.

Just one year of high-end production may give the 49ers pause if they aim for a defensive tackle in the first round. They need to hit on that pick and make sure the player is going to be productive right away. Perhaps Nolen’s ascension in 2024 is a sign that his trajectory will continue upward and he steps in Day 1 as an effective pass rusher and run stuffer. San Francisco will have to be absolutely sure that’s the case if this is the route they go in the 2025 draft.

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New mock draft misses the mark for Steelers top needs

This Steelers front office is far more aggressive and we expect that to continue into the 2025 NFL draft.

If the 2025 NFL draft were today, the Pittsburgh Steelers would hold the No. 25 overall pick. This puts the Steelers in limbo when it comes to the level of talent at some key positions.

This is what appeared to have happened in this latest mock draft from For The Win. Despite multiple needs of higher priority, they opted for defensive lineman Walter Nolen in the first round. Here’s what they had to say about the pick:

Dan Moore is a pending free agent, leaving room to upgrade at offensive tackle. There’s a dire need for wideout help, but the Steelers typically wait until Day 2 to address the position. And since we’re leaning into Pittsburgh traditions, let’s dip into keeping a swarming defense rolling.

While we don’t disagree on the team finding a viable replacement for Heyward, the talent is there at both wide receiver and cornerback that makes this pick a miss. Texas cornerback Jahdae Brown is an instant replacement for starter Donte Jackson and Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka is a huge upgrade over all of the free-agent receivers leaving at the end of the season.

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Mock draft roundup: Looking at the latest Lions 1st-round projections

Who is getting projected to the Lions with their first-round pick as we round up the mock drafts from Christmas week

With their success in the regular season, the draft is not what most Lion’s fans are looking forward to as the postseason looms. That being said, Detroit will have the opportunity to continue to load their star-studded lineup in the draft through their first-round pick. The closer it gets, many mock drafts have started predicting what the Lions are looking for.

In the first round, most mock drafts have Detroit going to or winning the Super Bowl, giving them the last two picks in round one. That being said, the consensus on what kind of player the Lions will pick seems to vary between the offensive or defensive line.

Detroit is looking to put the final piece onto their defense, adding another weapon to a defensive line that already has stars Aidan Hutchinson, DJ Reader and Z’Darius Smith.

Ohio State edge Jack Sawyer seems to be a popular pick, as Sawyer has tallied 51 tackles, 6 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and one interception in four years as a Buckeye. Among other mocks, Sawyer was the Lions projection from Ryan Wilson of CBS. He would be another issue for opposing offenses alongside Aidan Hutchinson. Another defensive option, one projected by Chris Trapasso of CBS, is Ole Miss defensive lineman Walter Nolen, who has recorded a career total of 48 tackles and 6.5 sacks in three years. 

In terms of the offense, Detroit may look to add depth to their already successful offensive line. A possible top pick could be Arizona’s Jonah Savaiinaea, a 6’5 336 pound star who has played 2,418 snaps and only allowed 8 sacks in three years. That was the choice by Curt Popejoy at Draft Wire. 

Overall, first round picks can be the cornerstone of a team or a large regret in the review. It will be up to the Lions on draft day to decide exactly the player they want. 

49ers add big pass rusher in ESPN NFL mock draft

The former top recruit recorded 6.5 sacks for the Rebels during the 2024 campaign.

The college football regular season is officially over and bowl season is here. With the regular season wrapped up, many of the top prospects from around the country are beginning to declare for the draft if their team was not selected for the first-ever 12-team playoff.

While it’s becoming clearer which players will be on the board for April’s 2025 NFL draft, mock drafts are beginning to stack up with predictions for the San Francisco 49ers‘ first-round selection. According to Yates, Nolen is a “disruptor.” Yates praised Nolen’s pass-rushing skills and strength on the interior of the defensive line.

In the latest mock draft from ESPN’s Field Yates, the 49ers addressed the defensive line in the first round. With the No. 15 overall selection, Yates penned Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen to the 49ers.

Via ESPN:

Nolen is a disruptor with excellent interior pass-rushing traits, tallying 6.5 sacks this season. He has very good strength, an explosive first step and powerful hands to disengage from blockers and chase down the quarterback.

Read Yates’s full mock draft here.

After transferring from Texas A&M to Ole Miss, the 6-foot-4, 290 lb defensive linemen recorded 26 total tackles with 6.5 sacks for Lane Kiffin and the Rebels in 2024.

Prior to entering the college level, Nolen was a top recruit, earning either the first or second spot for the class of 2022 in multiple high school recruiting outlets. Nolen played two seasons at Texas A&M for Jimbo Fisher, recording five sacks, a forced fumble and 66 tackles for the Aggies.

The 2025 NFL draft is slated to begin with round one on April 24 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

This post originally appeared on Niners Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

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