Grading every Eagles 2023 draftee as Philadelphia enters their bye week

With nine Eagles regular-season games in the books, we check in on what we believed would be an exciting draft class.

It feels like April was two years ago, doesn't it? More than half of the Philadelphia Eagles' schedule is behind us. The Birds are 8-1. They enter their bye week as owners of the NFL's best record.

So, what do you suggest we do with a week off ahead of us? Hey, we can kick our feet up and gear up for a stress-free week of NFL action, or we can check in on the rookies and see how they're doing.

Just for kicks, let's do the latter.

1. Jalen Carter, defensive tackle - Round 1 - Ninth overall

Maybe it's too early to say this, but we will anyway. One day, we're going to think back to the spring months of 2023, and we're going to talk about Philly drafting the best player in the selection meeting and doing so with the ninth-overall choice.

Thank the Chicago Bears for literally passing in this guy twice. Jalen Carter is going to be very good for a very long time. The Birds are lucky to have him.

Final grade: A+

2. Nolan Smith, EDGE/linebacker - Round 1, 30th overall

Shortly after the Eagles drafted Nolan Smith 30th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, most of us asked ourselves the same questions. How did Philly pull this off? How did they land Jalen Carter AND Nolan Smith?

Keep this in mind. There were mock drafts that sent Smith to the Eagles at the tenth selection.

Smith hasn't reached his full potential yet, and that's why we grade this selection as average (for now). The sky is the limit. He has been good on special teams, but something special is definitely there.

Final grade: C