Walter Nolen’s introductory news conference after picked by Cardinals
Introductory news conference for Ole Miss defensive lineman Walter Nolen after selected by the Arizona Cardinals No. 16 overall in the NFL Draft.
The NFL draft is over but the Arizona Cardinals aren’t done adding to their roster.
After only making seven picks in the draft, they immediately turned to the undrafted free agent market. Here is the list of undrafted free agents that they have acquired:
Josh Fryar, OT, Ohio State
A three-star recruit in 2020, Fryar emerged as a key piece for Ohio State over his final two seasons, starting every game at right tackle.
He has some explosive athletic traits, especially at 6 feet 4 inches, 318 pounds. His raw athletic score, an all-encompassing metric to measure athleticism, was 9.19 out of 10. But he never emerged as much more than an above-average tackle during his time with the Buckeyes.
Analyzing the Arizona Cardinals’ 2025 1st round pick, Walter Nolen
The Republic’s Theo Mackie and Greg Moore discuss the Arizona Cardinals’ 2025 first-round draft pick, Walter Nolen.
In Arizona, he will be reunited with Justin Frye, his college offensive line coach. Frye was hired as the Cardinals’ offensive line coach this winter.
Jeremiah Byers, OT, Florida State
Byers jumps into an interior offensive line group that remains thin, even after the sixth-round selection of Hayden Conner.
A six-year college player, he spent four years at UTEP before transferring to Florida State. He has been a consistent starter at right tackle since 2020, amassing a remarkable 56 college appearances. He adapted well to the ACC, where he generally performed better as a pass blocker than a run blocker.
Oscar Cardenas, TE, UTSA
Another six-year college player, Cardenas spent his entire career at University of Texas, San Antonio, which transitioned from Conference USA to the American for his final two seasons.
He finished his career with 95 receptions for 1,138 yards and nine touchdowns. From 2020-24, he played in every game before suffering a season-ending knee injury last October. His best season was in 2023, when he had a career-high 438 receiving yards.
Cardenas did not grade out particularly well as a blocker and was used more as a receiver.
Elijah Simmons, DT, Tennessee
Simmons, a 330-pound nose tackle, was seen as a potential sixth- or seventh-round draft pick before slipping into free agency.
He’s limited athletically, with a 3.47 raw athletic score but is a big body in the middle of the defense. He did not do much in college as a pass rusher but was a useful piece against the run, with eight tackles for loss over the final four seasons.
During the 2019 NFL draft, Simmons — then a high-schooler in Memphis — was celebrated on stage and shown on TV. At the time, J.J. Watt tweeted, “Can we draft #72 from the Tennessee metro high school team? Kid looks like a beast.”