Some mock drafters have the Eagles taking a safety for the first time in their history, but it’s Walter Nolan’s name that keeps seemingly popping up the most with the NFL Draft on the not-too-distant horizon. The first-round opens in just two weeks in Green Bay.
A defensive tackle makes more sense than a safety, and not only because the Eagles just don’t do safeties in the first round. It’s also because the Eagles have a defensive tackle deficit after losing Milton Williams in free agency and have not addressed the position in free agency.
That’s not to say the Eagles won’t surprise and take either South Carolina’s Nick Emmanwori or Georgia’s Malaki Starks in the first round, perhaps with a slight trade up to land one. The defensive tackle position is deep, so maybe the Eagles will wait until Day 2, when the second and third rounds take place, to get one and go with a safety.
But let’s go chalk and consider Mississippi’s Nolant to be the pick, even though he has yet to be reported as a top-30 visit.
Some reports say buyer beware on Nolan, who is just 21, due to some maturity issues. Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, some scouting reports mention that Nolan has a “history of walking off the practice field mid-session due to frustration.”
Hard to imagine Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis putting up with that. It’s easy to imagine, though, Nolan being an impact player in Vic Fangio’s attack-style front, and lining up next to Carter for years to come.
“I feel like I do everything,” said Nolan, who is 6-4, 296 pounds, at the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this year. “It’s hard to find someone who looks like me and do the things I do.”
Nolan, who had 6.5 sacks last year and four in 2023, is the third-ranked defensive tackle on the top-50 prospects list of NFL draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, behind Michigan’s Mason Graham and Oregon’s Derrick Harmon and No. 28 overall, which is within the Eagles’ draft range.
Nolan implied that he could even be used outside on the edge, something Fangio started doing more with Williams as last season went on.
“I feel like I do everything,” he said. “It’s hard to find someone who looks like me and do the things I do. I get off the ball better than a lot of people. Just my versatility. Lot people probably want to play one position. I want to play every position.”
