Dawg Day

Posted: April 28th, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Dawg Day

The player I wanted the Eagles to get in the 1st round was DT Jalen Carter. He wasn’t a sure thing to make it to the Eagles. If he was gone, the player I wanted them to get was LB Nolan Smith.

The Eagles were able to get Carter at pick 9. I ended my write-up on that pick by saying this:

We’ll talk more about Carter and where he projects this season. Let’s get back to the draft for now.

Great start for the Eagles.

Is there any way Nolan Smith falls to 30?

That would be insane. And impossible.

Best not to be too greedy.

I had no idea that my joke would actually come true. Nolan Smith somehow fell all the way to 30 and the Eagles took him, giving them a great pair of 1st round picks. What an insane night.

Let’s start by talking about Smith. Here are some raw notes on him.

Highly athletic edge rusher. Plays both sides. Also physical. Can set the edge on run plays. Will take on pulling blockers and stonewall them. Plays bigger and stronger than he is. Smart, disciplined player. Will mix in inside moves on some pass rushes. Excellent burst. Outstanding agility. Able to get through small gaps and into the backfield. Has the speed to make plays in space. Good motor. Will chase after the ball. Bends easily and uses that to get by blockers when coming off the edge. Smith finished his career with 21 TFLs, 11.5 sacks and 3 FFs. Those numbers don’t even match Will Anderson’s production from the 2021 season. Georgia prospects have to split reps because of their depth. The scheme also doesn’t let them just attack up the field. He also missed part of the 2022 season with a torn pec. Still, you have to consider that level of production when you’re judging an edge rusher. One thing helping Smith is character. He was a team leader at UGA and is highly regarded. This is the kind of person you want in your organization.

In terms of size and speed, he compares to Micah Parsons. You could also compare him to Haason Reddick. We don’t know if Smith will pan out the way they did, but he’s a gifted athlete.

Okay, so if Smith is so great, how did he last to 30?

I think size is a key issue. Reddick hit free agency last March and wasn’t highly sought after. This list had him 24th, after guys like DE Randy Gregory and OL James Daniels. Pass rushers that are 6-2, 240 just aren’t coveted by all 32 teams. The Eagles signed Reddick and he was great.

As the draft moved closer to pick 30, I didn’t see many teams where Smith felt like a great fit. I started to think he just might make it. Thankfully he did. To be fair, there were also runs on OL, WRs and TEs. That certainly helped. It was also nice of Detroit to take LB Jack Campbell and RB Jahmyr Gibbs in the Top 20.

Maybe there were other concerns with Smith. Most people had him pegged to go in the 10 to 20 range. I never saw anyone projecting him to fall to 30.

Smith gives the Eagles incredible depth at edge rusher.

Haason Reddick
Josh Sweat
Brandon Graham
Derek Barnett
Nolan Smith

That’s a lot of dudes who can get after the QB. And Fletcher Cox, Milton Williams and Jalen Carter will be attacking up the middle. The Eagles lost Javon Hargrave, but the front seven could still be outstanding this season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UunS1S54_Y&pp=ygULbm9sYW4gc21pdGg%3D

We’ll get into a discussion of how Sean Desai will use Smith and Carter once the draft is over and we’ve got time for that stuff. For now, be happy that the Eagles just pulled off an amazing coup by adding a pair of special defenders.

If this is the final year for Cox and Graham, they have really talented players who might be ready to take over for them.

*****

The best part of all this is value. The Eagles gave up a 2024 fourth round pick to get Carter. They still have a second, third and pair of seventh round picks for this draft. I’m sure Howie will make a call or two about moving around. He’d love to have more picks if possible.

Great, great start to the weekend.

*****

The Eagles could trade back from this pick to add an extra pick or two.

Or they could be happy to have another Top 75 player. They jumped from pick 94 up to 66.

Lots of good options for Howie.

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