Ole Miss in the NFL Draft: Walter Nolen the likeliest first-round Rebel
Ole Miss football has a handful of first-round possibilities for the 2025 NFL Draft.
Defensive tackle Walter Nolen, though, seems the likeliest bet.
Nolen transferred to Ole Miss from Texas A&M and played one season. He was an All-American and first-team All-SEC, finishing with 14 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. The Rebels won 10 games for the third time in four seasons.
Nolen finished with an overall season grade of 88.9, according to Pro Football Focus, the third-highest of all defensive tackles nationally. His 35 quarterback pressures were sixth, while he was second in TFLs/no gain stops. Nolen had a 91.6 run defense grade, second-best in the country.
CBS Sports projected Nolen to the Houston Texans at No. 25 overall in a recent mock. He’s the draft’s 16th-best prospect, according to ESPN’s Big Board.
NFL.com recently mocked Nolen to the Carolina Panthers with the No. 8 overall selection, his highest projection to date. WalterFootball.com has him off the board at No. 17 to the Cincinnati Bengals.
“I’m the next Aaron Donald, man,” Nolen said earlier in the draft process. “I feel like I can do it all. Aaron Donald did it all at the highest level. I’m a younger, upcoming version of Aaron Donald. I just can’t wait to show everybody that when I get this opportunity I’m being blessed with.”
.@JaxsonDart and Walter Nolen pick the @OleMissFB legend they’d love to team up with 🤝 pic.twitter.com/l5Wmp39XL0
— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) March 9, 2025
Nolen was one of the program-record 11 players Ole Miss sent to the NFL Scouting Combine.
However, Nolen skipped drills, unlike quarterback Jaxson Dart — one of the draft’s fastest risers. NFL Network’s Charles Davis went so far as to send Dart to the New York Giants at No. 3 overall.
Tight end Evan Engram in 2017 was the last first-rounder for the Rebels. Eli Manning in 2004 is the last first-round quarterback.
“Just watch (Ole Miss) Pro Day,” Nolen said at the Combine. “I’m going to show you everything. I’m not a one-trick pony. I feel like I can move up and down the line. A lot of people feel like they can get to the league and play one position. I want to play everything.”
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Other potential first-rounders for the Rebels are cornerback Tre Amos and defensive linemen Jared Ivey and Princely Umanmielen.
Nolen received some encouragement from Donald at the Combine. He also met with a number of NFL teams, among them the Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, Bengals and Cleveland Browns.
The Bills on Sunday released veteran pass-rusher Von Miller — who, like Donald, is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer. The Browns, meanwhile, made star EDGE Myles Garrett the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. The Bengals have placed All-Pro defensive lineman Trey Hendrickson on the trading block.
ESPN’s Jordan Reid has Nolen as his 10th-best prospect in the draft, which runs from April 24-26 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
“That might be one of the best defensive tackles I’ve ever seen play with his mix of pass rush and run-game ability,” Umanmielen said of Nolen. “His natural explosiveness and strength is crazy.”
