Walter Nolen

The #1 overall recruit from the 2022 prep cycle, Nolen (6’4/296) was the crown jewel of Texas A&M’s best all-time recruiting class. He rotated through the Aggies defensive front shuttling between three tech and Edge for two seasons earning a middling 72.5 overall grade in 2023 with 21 stops and zero missed tackles. He left College Station following Jimbo Fisher’s firing and blossomed into a fully-formed, game-wrecking three tech who ranked second nationally with a 91.6 run grade and fifth with 26 stops on running downs. The First Team All-American is a bit undersized at 296 pounds but he is able to uncoil and strike with the force of a much larger man thanks to his impressive raw power. A plus athlete who has a brisk get off and can keep blockers off balance with speed or power, Nolen can rush the passer with an undisciplined technical approach and get away with it thanks to his physical gifts. However in the run game he plays with outstanding leverage routinely discarding blockers and breaking through double teams. A true havoc creator on the interior, Nolen needs to work on secondary rush moves but has every down start potential.