“You might think one thing of the personality, but it’s a little bit different,” Gannon said. “Why he fits as a Cardinal? He’s got a huge heart. He cares about his teammates, and he wants to maximize himself. When you show us that, from all of our different ways that we find that information, sign him up.”
The Cardinals will welcome in Nolen’s draft classmates in the coming days and integrate the rookies into the organization. With his visit, Nolen had a head start meeting with the staff and some of his teammates like Kyler Murray.
Those teammates, such as the veteran leadership in the defensive line room with the likes of Calais Campbell and Dalvin Tomlinson, will be critical as Nolen begins this new chapter.
“If I trust you, if I ride with you, if you’re my ‘dawg’ and we’re locked in,” Nolen said. “I’ll do whatever for you. I’ll give you this shirt off my back.”
The first 24 hours of being a Cardinal were a whirlwind. However, it’s was a preview with the organization that he said cared about him as a person the most.
“I want to have that gold jacket, a couple of Super Bowls under my belt, and some Defensive Player of the Years and Defensive Rookie of the Year,” Nolen said. “I want my legacy to be that I came in the building, and I helped bring the culture even more.”
