2023 NFL Draft: Eagles select edge rusher Nolan Smith from Georgia
Eagles select edge rusher Nolan Smith from Georgia originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Philadelphia Bulldogs did it again.
After trading up one spot to No. 9 to draft Jalen Carter earlier in Round 1, the Eagles were able to stick at No. 30 and draft his extremely talented Georgia teammate Nolan Smith.
Smith seemed like a possibility with the No. 10 pick so the fact that the Eagles got him at No. 30 is pretty impressive. He’s now the fourth Bulldog the Eagles have drafted in the top three rounds over the last two drafts, joining Carter, Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean.
Smith, 22, is undersized but has special speed that could make him a really dangerous player at the NFL level. At least that’s what the Eagles are hoping.
At the Combine in February, Smith ran an insane 4.39 in the 40-yard dash. To put that time into perspective, it’s actually faster than Tennessee wideout Jalin Hyatt, a speedy receiver who will likely be drafted before Day 2 is over.
And it’s not just pure speed either. Smith also had a vertical jump of over 41 inches and a broad jump of 128 inches. Freakish athleticism.
In a lot of ways, the Eagles are drafting Smith because of projection. He never had more than 3 1/2 sacks in any of his four seasons at Georgia and his career-high in TFLs was 9 in 2021. Although his production in 2022 was much better — he had 3 sacks and 7 TFLs in 8 games before tearing his pec, an injury that needed surgery.
Smith definitely has a very high ceiling because of his unique athletic tools. And during his pre-draft press conference, Eagles GM Howie Roseman talked about drafting such a player.
In Philly, Smith will be reunited with his former Georgia teammates Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean, who were drafted by the Eagles in the first and third rounds last season. And he’ll obviously join Carter, who was drafted earlier in the round. All four were on the 2022 national championship team and Carter and Smith were on the 2023 national championship team.
Because of his size (6-2, 238) Smith wasn’t going to be the right fit for every team. Whichever team was going to draft Smith would need to have a plan for how to use him. That shouldn’t be too hard for the Eagles, who watched Haason Reddick finish the regular season with 16 sacks with a very similar build.
It’s worth pointing out that Reddick’s success came under former DC Jonathan Gannon, but it’s expected that new DC Sean Desai will run a very similar scheme. And edge rusher coach Jeremiah Washburn is still in place and will be charged with developing Smith.
Smith is the first edge rusher selected by the Eagles in the first round since they took Derek Barnett at 14th overall out of Tennessee back in 2017. Barnett became a contributor for the Eagles but never lived up to his draft status with just 21 1/2 sacks in 65 career games.
Since Roseman became the Eagles’ general manager in 2010, the Eagles selected 12 players in the first round (11 were Roseman’s picks). Of those previous 12, three were edge rushers: Barnett in 2017, Marcus Smith in 2014 and Brandon Graham in 2010. While Graham eventually became a hero in Philly it took a long time. Marcus Smith was a clear bust. Barnett falls somewhere in between.
With the Eagles in 2023, Smith will likely be a rotational player. The Eagles appear set with their starters Reddick and Josh Sweat and still have Graham coming off the bench. Barnett is on the roster but it’s unclear if he’s in the organization’s plans for 2023. In any case, Smith will become part of a rotation that helped the Eagles drag down opposing quarterbacks an incredible 70 times in 2022.
