Walter Nolen III named by The Athletic’s Haller as breakout player to watch for Cardinals

The Athletic’s Doug Haller listed Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Walter Nolen III as a player who could have a breakout season in 2026.

Haller said that despite Nolen playing only six games last season due to injuries, the second-year pro has a chance to be another impact player on defense for the Cardinals if he can stay healthy.

The explosiveness he showed in that limited time was impressive, enough to suggest he could be a future star. The Cardinals last season gave up 28.7 points per game, which ranked 29th in the league. Safety Budda Baker is a perennial Pro Bowler. Josh Sweat is coming off a career season. But they need someone else to emerge. Someone on the defensive front. If Nolen stays healthy, he could be a difference-maker the defense needs.

Nolen’s rookie season didn’t get off to the greatest start as he missed the Cardinals’ first seven games due to a calf injury. The 6-foot-4, 300-pound tackle out of Ole Miss made his NFL debut in Week 9 against the Dallas Cowboys, registering a sack and four tackles in a 27-17 win.

Nolen’s season ended after being carted off with a knee injury in Week 16 against the Atlanta Falcons. In six games, Nolen registered 11 tackles, two sacks, two passes defensed and a touchdown.

Nolen enters this season as part of a retooled Cardinals defensive line that added defensive tackles Roy Lopez and Andrew Billings and lost veteran defensive end Calais Campbell in the offseason. Arizona added defensive tackle Kaleb Proctor in the draft, but the rookie went down with a torn meniscus during OTA’s, and it is unclear how much time he will miss.

With Proctor out, Nolen and fellow former first-round pick defensive lineman Darius Robinson are players that will likely need to step up for the Cardinals’ defense this season.

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