Walter Nolen’s 1st words to Cardinals’ Monti Ossenfort: ‘Send me that book’

Arizona Cardinals general manager Monti Ossenfort recognized the eagerness in new defensive tackle Walter Nolen after he was drafted Thursday night.

“Walt was ready to roll,” Ossenfort told reporters of the phone call when Arizona made Nolen the 16th overall pick. “Walt’s first words out of his mouth were, ‘Send me that (play)book.'”

The combination of head coach Jonathan Gannon and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis has made for a schematic tandem on defense that has garnered attention from all sorts of parties, and the phone call indicates Nolen can’t wait to be a part of it.

“Send me that playbook.” pic.twitter.com/fLKF2PnZBK

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) April 25, 2025

He’s the latest addition to a defensive line in an offseason that’s also included EDGE Josh Sweat as well as defensive tackles Dalvin Tomlinson and Calais Campbell. The team also expects to get more of full seasons out of Darius Robinson, Bilal Nichols and Justin Jones, while Dante Stills returns to the group as well.

“Walt’s ready to get to the end of the playbook, and he’s ready to get here,” Ossenfort said.

Nolen was very productive in his lone season at Ole Miss, registering 6.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss en route to All-American honors.

Ossenfort said the emotion and excitement was apparent with Nolen as he took in the draft from Houston.

“It’s always great making those calls,” Ossenfort said. “And tonight was no different.”

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