PHILADELPHIA – Walter Nolen won’t be joining the Eagles after all.
The defensive tackle from Mississippi was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals and their former defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon with the 16th overall pick in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday night.
Nolen was one of the players who was widely mocked to the Eagles with the 32nd pick and seen by other mock drafters as a trade up possibility for Philadelphia general manager Howie Roseman.
To make a move up the draft board, the Eagles needed Nolen to slide a bit, probably into the low or mid-20s, to have a chance to try to make a move up to get him. They had reportedly done a lot of homework on the young DT, who was taken off some team’s draft boards due to maturity issues, and reportedly liked him.
NFL Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah didn’t even have Nolen being taken in the first round in his final mock draft. That was a big swing and miss for Jeremiah.
After the Cards took Nolen, another player mocked to the Eagles at various points, defensive end Shemar Stewart, was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 17.
The Eagles have been quiet on the trade front, so far, but once it swings into the 20s and there is a player they have a first-round grade on, they could make a move.
Some to keep an eye on include Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon, Georgia safety Malaki Starks, cornerbacks Will Johnson, Maxwell Hairston, and Jahdae Barron, edge rushers James Pearce and Mike Green, and linebacker Jihaad Campbell. There is also offensive tackles Josh Conerly.
Things can change quickly, though. At the time of this post, only 18 players had been taken, with versatile offensive lineman Grey Zabel.
