No one is saying Walter Nolen III is going to be an All-Pro, or even that he's going to be great. He's only played three games. Even Nolen doesn't love analyzing his play as exceptional.

"See that's the thing, I never really feel like I did what I wanted to do," he said. "If it was up to me I would make every play that is on the field. You also can't do that either.

"I just try my best. Try and play as fast as possible. One thing my (high school) coach taught me, the one thing you should never have to coach is how violent you're playing and how fast you are playing. I took that with me for the rest of my life."

Nolen might not be boasting, but the numbers will. Both coach Jonathan Gannon and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis have praised Nolen's ability to push the pocket. He helped create Josh Sweat's sack against the 49ers with his play, and he has four tackles for loss in his three NFL games – already tied for third on the team with linebacker Zaven Collins. Only Sweat, with 11, and Calais Campbell, with 8, have more, and each of those guys have played all 10 games.

"The kid just loves football and he loves the process," Cardinals defensive line coach Winston DeLattiboudere III said. "He's not too into the result of anything, he always wants to know where he can get better and how can he improve. I am hyperfocused on making sure I am communicating with him the good, the bad, the indifferent. And giving him a little love and praise. When you work with someone for some time and you see them have success that they crave, it's good to pat them on the back for that too."

With the season in a tough place at 3-7, development of the younger players likely will draw greater priority. Nolen's status as a first-round pick makes his future that much more crucial.

Despite a late start with his calf injury, early returns carry, yes, the potential for exceptional.

"I feel like I'm starting to feel more comfortable," Nolen said. "As far as the league, the only difference to me is how much more mental you have to put into it. I think I'm trying to get a rhythm in doing that and everything has been working out so far. I need to continue to add to that."

-- No running back Trey Benson this weekend. Needs more time to practice coming off the knee injury and he remains on IR. Once the Cardinals signed Jermar Jefferson to the roster from the practice squad, that said a lot.

-- Cornerback Will Johnson sounded optimistic about being able to play again this week after missing a couple of games with hip and back injuries. He was hurt against Dallas on "Monday Night Football," but apparently played much of the game while banged up. Johnson tweeted out a play in which he was manhandled and driven to the ground by Cowboys offensive lineman Tyler Guyton, and later admitted it was frustrating to get hurt in such a manner.

"Definitely being something I couldn't really control, a dirty play, it's definitely tough," Johnson said. "It's one of those things where I want to be on the field, and to go out on something like that, it's frustrating. Got to keep going, keep the faith and keep doing what I can."

-- What will Michael Wilson have for a follow up? It's unfair to expect anything close to his 15-catch, 185-yard game – the latter of which was the highest single-game total in the NFL so far this season, which no one would've guessed – but another five or six catches for 80-90 yards? That's absolutely possible. He has that kind of vibe going with Jacoby Brissett. Again, it's skewed a bit by one giant game, but Wilson's output the last five games? Extrapolated over a 17-game season it would be 99 catches for 1,238 yards.

-- Wilson and tight end Trey McBride, who had a "quiet" 10 for 115 last week, became only the second duo in franchise history to have at least 10 catches and 100 yards each in a game. Anquan Boldin (13-186) and Larry Fitzgerald (10-151) did it during a win in Seattle in 2008.

-- McBride needs 10 catches to surpass Jimmy Graham's record of 301 receptions for a tight end in his first four seasons – which, whether it is this week or next, is going to be broken and eventually smashed. He is also in line to tie Fitz's team record for 13 straight games with at least five receptions.

-- Brissett's 452 yards passing last week brings his total of 1,570 passing yards in his five starts. That's a franchise record for a QB's first five starts, passing Kurt Warner's 1,389.

-- His record 47 completions also earned a request from the Hall of Fame for his game-used jersey, to put on display in Canton, Ohio.

-- The Cardinals are holding a food drive Sunday. Nonperishable food items will be able to be dropped off at 14 collection points around the stadium, and a QR code will be available for those who would like to donate monetarily. It will benefit United Food Bank.

-- Former Cardinals fan favorite Dennis Gardeck, who had 17 sacks in Arizona, makes his return Sunday as a member of the Jaguars. Gardeck got into the league as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and had his last season in 2024 cut short with a torn ACL. I wrote about what Gardeck meant to the Cardinals when he was here. He made an impact.

-- On the flip side, Calais Campbell will be going against his former team with the team that was once his former team. In fact, the last time the Jaguars visited Arizona, it was back in 2017 – when Campbell was in his first year with Jacksonville after departing the Cardinals as a free agent following the 2016 season. That season was Campbell's best statistical year, when he was first-team All-Pro and had 14½ sacks.

-- The last word comes from Brissett, who was asked if he would give up the 47-completion record in exchange for a victory last week.

"C'mon man. I would be sick if I didn't think that way."

See you Sunday.