Eagles raid Georgia’s cupboard again, select Nolan Smith at 30th selection
Had you told a Philadelphia Eagles fan two weeks ago that the Birds would have landed Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith at the ninth and 30th overall selections respectively, they might have told you to get your head examined. Then again, if you truly knew that this would happen, you probably need to relocate to Las Vegas and get a job as an oddsmaker. We most certainly didn’t see this coming.
In his NFL Draft profile of Smith, Lance Zierlein named Samson Ebukam as Nolan’s NFL comp. We have also heard comparisons to current Eagles edge rusher Haason Reddick. As fate would have it, Smith and Reddick are now teammates. You can’t make this up.
Philadelphia lost one of their best young defensive linemen during free agency’s frenzy as Javon Hargrave joined the San Francisco 49ers. And, as strange as it sounds, you can make arguments that they got better in a single evening as Carter and Smith join the nest.
Just give us all of the Georgia Bulldogs. We’ll take them!
Nolan Smith is an eventual starter for the Eagles and a nightmare for opposing offensive coordinators to prepare for.
Nolan Smith is everything teams look for in this new style of NFL edge rusher. He’s six-foot-two. He tips the scales at 238 pounds. Perhaps you’ve heard? He runs the 40-yard dash in 4.39 seconds.
Sean Desai, Philly’s first-year defensive coordinator has yet to speak with the Philly media. We have no idea what his scheme will look like. Here’s what we can tell you though. He has some horses. Fear not Birds fans. This Eagles’ defense may have some growing pains, but they are going to be very good for a very long time.
The Philadelphia Eagles may have won the NFL Draft’s first night. The only other team that has to feel as good as they do now is the Houston Texans.
