Over the last few weeks, a favorite name has emerged for the Eagles in mock drafts: Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen.
But he might not be there at 32 when the Eagles pick.
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WATCH HEREIn fact, that’s the opinion of NFL Network lead draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah, who was asked on Friday on a national conference call about the likelihood of Nolen's lasting until 32 for the Eagles to pick him.
“I would say it’s unlikely that he falls that low,” Jeremiah said. “He’s just too explosive and in a passing league, I can’t see him getting there. But if you asked me if Nolan Smith was going to get there, I would have said no. If you would have asked me if Cooper DeJean was going to be there in the second round, I would have said no. Look, you always prepare for it, and you always be pleasantly surprised of who falls. I would not anticipate that he would drop that far.
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SIGN UP “I think he could end up going — if he went in the top 15, I wouldn’t be shocked. Yeah, that one would surprise me if he made it all the way down. In terms of the Eagles and where they could look, I just imagine in [Howie Roseman’s] office that you just gather the offensive staff and the defensive staff and they are just lobbying for which offensive or defensive lineman they would love to have at that point.”
Nolen, 21, had a productive season at Ole Miss after playing a couple seasons at Texas A&M to start his college career. In 2024, Nolen had 6 1/2 sacks and 14 tackles for loss as a consensus All-American.
Of course, if the Eagles don’t want to sit and wait to make a pick at 32, they have plenty of draft picks to use in a potential trade-up. They have eight picks this year and are projected to have as many as 12 in the 2026 class.
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Roseman is never shy about making draft-day trades and Jeremiah could see Roseman getting aggressive for a player like Nolen or someone else if they fall into their striking range.
“I would also say with where they are as a team and the roster and you go through and look at it, they’re in pretty good shape,” Jeremiah said. “They have a ton of picks. I think they have 12 picks next year. So they could be a team — you are always looking at teams looking to move back. They could be a team that, say it’s him, say it’s Walter Nolen there. Maybe that’s someone they would be aggressive to move up. I wouldn’t sleep on Shemar Stewart as an explosive player that they could use and fit. If he starts to drop, they could go up and get him.
“I think there are a lot of teams in this draft that would like to go in reverse and the Eagles might be one of the few teams that would really be willing to put their foot on the gas and go get somebody.”
