Revenge of the Birds
Every year, taking players from the college ranks has been the basis of improving every roster in the NFL. April’s NFL draft is one of the most important aspects of building a team and plugging holes.
This year, the Arizona Cardinals’ GM Monti Ossenfort focused on getting quality players for the defensive side of the ball. With seven picks, he chose six defenders with OG Hayden Conner of Texas the lone offensive guy.
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And here it is, Week 9. The Cardinals just defeated the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football 27-17. A lot of Arizona players made big plays throughout the game, including the usual suspects such as WR Marv Harrison, QB Jacoby Brissett, DT Calais Campbell, K Chad Ryland, and DE Josh Sweat.
The Cowboys had not lost a game at home all year. Their offense was ranked #2 in the league and had scored 40 points at home three times this season.
Dallas thought they were going to light it up against a two-win Arizona squad and blow the Cardinals out. Defensively, rookies shined.
But intermixed into the game were many exceptional plays from this year’s rookie class.
Round 1, pick #16
Front and center was the debut of DT Walter Nolen, Arizona’s first-round pick out of Ole Miss. He had a really good first game. His first stat was a two-yard loss of Cowboys RB Javonte Williams with just three minutes and 43 seconds elapsed in the first quarter. Williams took the handoff on the first-and-goal from the seven-yard line as Nolen beat LG Tyler Smith and nailed the running back for a two-yard loss.
Nolen was selected with the 16th pick in the first round and the third defensive tackle taken. He spent two seasons with Texas A&M before transferring to Ole Miss. For his college career, he had 114 tackles with 11.5 sacks, 25 tackles for loss, three fumble recoveries, and four batted passes. Nolen was voted First Team All-SEC, named a consensus All-American, and received an invite to the Senior Bowl, where he dominated.
Unfortunately, his NFL career was sidetracked before it even began due to a calf injury he suffered before training camp. He ended up on the PUP list as Week 1 rolled along. So, the Cowboys’ contest was his introduction to the league and also to Arizona fans.
Against Dallas, he was able to come from behind and tackle WR CeeDee Lamb, was had made three Arizona defenders miss and was still weaving in and out in the middle of the field. In the third quarter, Nolen batted down his first NFL pass. But his “Welcome to the NFL” moment came later. Although he didn’t start, he played early and often. He had three tackles in the game going into the fourth quarter.
The Cardinals did not have a pitch count on Nolen, even if it was his first-ever NFL game. They did limit his playing time, and no matter how...
