When Walter Nolen III was deciding which photos to put in his Instagram carousel from the season opener, one image was obvious.
It was the screenshot of him being blocked by three offensive linemen.
"That ain't just something you see every day," Nolen said. "I felt pretty good about myself seeing that."
Granted, video breakdown shows it was more a byproduct of the defensive scheme and some miscommunication within the Chargers offensive line. However, it was another example of the attention Nolen faced on Sunday.
There were times throughout the game when Nolen faced double teams or would get passed off from one lineman to the other. Considering it was his seventh game in his career, he was a bit surprised.
"Kudos to them, but I guess I got a little respect around the league," Nolen said. "If I was an offensive coordinator, I wouldn't try to let me get off in the game. Like I said, kudos to them."
Look at the stats and it might seem like Nolen had a quiet afternoon. He assisted on one tackle.
But his presence caught the attention of his head coach.
"Hopefully all of our guys at some point are worthy of getting the protection scheme toward them," Mike LaFleur said. "Walt did some good stuff. He was disruptive. I thought he played hard. What's great about him, like a lot of other guys, there's a whole other level that we can reach. We need to put in the work to get there."
It reinforces LaFleur's offseason comments about how different the Cardinals defense looked last year when Nolen was healthy and participating.
As much as it is about how Nolen could wreck a game, his involvement opens up the door for others.
On Dante Stills' fourth-and-goal sack, Nolen garnered the attention of the center and right guard. It allowed Stills a one-on-one rush against left guard, Trey Pipkins III, who was rotating with Kayode Awosika.
"Of course I want to be on the stat sheet more," Nolen said. "But the win means more than anything. If I'm out there doing whatever the team needs, I'm cool with that. Even if it's not on the stat sheet, just being out there and being the guy that's taking up blocks and just making sure everybody else gets free, I'm cool with that too."
The last time Nolen played Seattle, it was only his second NFL game, and he left the outing early with an injury. Still, he's familiar with their interior offensive line and their strengths. The unit is headlined by guard Grey Zabel, who was drafted two picks after Nolen.
If the Seahawks focus on Nolen in a similar fashion as the Chargers, he'll be prepared for the moment.
"I was like, I got to start working on trying to beat some of those double teams, so going to get in the lab and work on that," Nolen said. "The thought process is stick to what we know and put our head down and work. We'll see them on Sunday."
