Two Cardinals Draft Options Revealed

With the excitement that is 2025 NFL Draft season looming, the Arizona Cardinals will have their work cut out for them to find a player who brings a significant upgrade, or at the very least, upside.

The Cardinals have made notable signings in the early portion of this year's free agency period, signing Josh Sweat and Dalvin Tomlinson to significant contracts to help boost their defensive line.

But the Cardinals likely still need help in that category. Even with a solid amount of depth in some of their returners, they'll likely look to add more talent in the draft.

It's pure speculation to posit just what Monti Ossenfort will do with the 16th overall pick, but one outlet provided a pair of options, one in the first round, and one on day three, to continue beefing up the defensive front.

Pro Football Focus listed one first-round and one late-round selection for each team's primary position of need. For the Cardinals, that need remains on the interior of the defensive line, both with regard to pass rushing and run stuffing.

PFF presented the Cardinals with a pair of Ole Miss teammates - DL Mike Green in the first round, and DL J.J. Pegues on day three.

"The Cardinals need to beef up their defensive front, which they accomplish here by selecting Walter Nolen. However, cornerback is also a significant need, and if they opt to address that with the No. 16 pick, they could look to Day 3 for interior defensive help.

"Nolen’s college teammate, JJ Pegues, would be a strong option—he posted an impressive 81.8 run-defense grade in 2024."

Nolen is certainly a top-end difference-maker. He picked up 6.5 sacks and 14 TFLs in his senior season, and was a tremendous run-stuffer, with a pass rush win rate of 10.9% and a run-stop rate of 11.9%. Both numbers are significantly closer to elite status than average.

Nolen is 6-foot-3, 305 pounds, but with plenty of athleticism and explosiveness off the ball. He's versatile enough to play every down, and is a truly terrifying presence to opposing offenses.

His teammate Pegues is lesser-recognized, but his metrics suggest he is a similarly dominant player - though perhaps more of a developmental project. He boasted a pass rush win rate of 9.3% and a run-stop rate of 8.9%.

Taking two of the same position from the same school is a bit of a gamble, and Pegues doesn't grade out quite as well as his teammate, but they're clearly both good players, and if Pegues is available day three, adding multiple layers of beef to Arizona's DL is certainly not something to complain about.