2023 NFL Mock Draft: Philadelphia Eagles add edge rusher

Nolan Smith, DE, Georgia

You all tousled.

You all tousled actually dangerous. If the Eagles have the thirtieth decide and Nolan Smith continues to be on the board, I’d count on Howie Roseman to close off each telephone within the conflict room and dash to the rostrum.

Let’s begin off with what stands out instantly about Nolan Smith: he’s an athletic freak. He ran a 4.39 40-yard sprint on the Mix, he jumped 128” within the broad bounce, and had a 41.5” vertical bounce. That’s good for ninety fifth percentile amongst EDGE rushers in all the key classes. This athleticism reveals up on his recreation tape, as he has elite burst and bend in addition to the flexibility to fully blow by each OT you set in entrance of him. Smith’s mix of pace, agility, and explosion is sufficient to make a DC salivate. He’s not going to win with a bull rush or push an OT again, however he doesn’t want to try this to be efficient.

Don’t mistake this for a scarcity of energy, although. He doesn’t have the kind of energy that might destroy a lineman however he is aware of how you can flip his athleticism right into a devastating power. His burst and pace can overwhelm anyone he goes in opposition to. He additionally has robust hand approach that may pack a imply punch on the level of assault.

Smith can also be extraordinarily ferocious. His motor runs scorching, he’s elite in pursuit, and he goes into each play with the boldness that the man throughout from him received’t be capable to block him. He’s the final word competitor who just isn’t afraid to do the soiled work in opposition to gamers greater than him, whether or not or not it’s setting an edge or utilizing his pure leverage to manage a lineman. He performs with far more energy and toughness than you’ll count on from somebody of his measurement. This all mixed makes him top-of-the-line run defenders within the draft.

There are usually 2 large negatives I’ve examine Smith: his measurement and his rawness. I personally assume these are each overblown worries. Let’s begin off with the rawness portion: if the Eagles draft Smith they don’t want him to essentially produce robotically. We at present boast an EDGE group of Josh Sweat, Haason Reddick, Brandon Graham, and Derek Barnett for this upcoming season. Smith wouldn’t must step in and produce instantly, and he would have a seasoned veteran in Barnett and a move dashing aficionado in Reddick to study from. Contemplating Barnett is within the final 12 months of his deal and Graham may be thought of year-by-year, Smith can develop for a 12 months after which step into an enormous function in 12 months 2.

And talking of Reddick, he looks as if an excellent comparability to Smith. Smith is an inch taller and mainly the identical weight as Reddick is now. Reddick was thought of a uncooked prospect popping out of faculty and he didn’t have an excessive amount of manufacturing instantly. He additionally has 39.5 sacks over the previous 3 years. Don’t inform me that Smith is just too small to be efficient, he simply wants time that the Eagles can clearly present him to develop out his body.

Ultimately, Nolan Smith simply has that canine in him. He’s a relentless, freakishly athletic, extraordinarily clever participant that may completely tear up the NFL if put in the fitting scenario and given a little bit of endurance. He’s the emotional chief of arguably top-of-the-line school soccer defensive models of all time. Oh, and I forgot to say he’s the previous teammate of each Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean. To me, Philadelphia is the right place for him to go and I’d extremely contemplate selecting him at the same time as excessive as 10. That is as near a slam dunk decide as you will get and simply makes an excessive amount of sense.

2023 BGN Mock Draft Order

1) Panthers (pheebthegoose): QB Bryce Young2) Texans (Phoenix X Minimus): QB C.J. Stroud3) Cardinals (alwaysaphillyfan): EDGE Will Anderson4) Colts (eaglenomics): QB Anthony Richardson5) Seahawks (The Participant Previously Often known as Mousecop): DT Jalen Carter6) Lions (Sam2TheMaximum): DE Tyree Wilson7) Raiders (joey2arms): OT Paris Johnson Jr.8) Falcons (Kephas): CB Christian Gonzalez9) Bears (chewy wellington): OT Peter Skoronski10) Eagles (Philly21): CB Devon Witherspoon11) Titans (RachAttack): WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba12) Texans (Domonate): WR Quentin Johnston13) Jets (JawnJam): OT Broderick Jones14) Patriots (Amish Eagle Lion): CB Joey Porter Jr.15) Packers (bdawk4ever): QB Will Levis16) Commanders (the canine did it): OT Darnell Wright17) Steelers (Dr.MidnightGreen): CB Deonte Banks18) Lions (DreadPirateRocco): DT Adetomiwa Adebawore19) Buccaneers (Neil Dutton): DT Calijah Kancey20) Seahawks (wardbell92): DE Myles Murphy21) Chargers (Brendanekstrom): TE Dalton Kincaid22) Ravens (Rollinpin): RB Bijan Robinson23) Vikings (FierceDisc65): DE Lukas Van Ness24) Jaguars (Leo Bedio): DB Brian Branch25) Giants (dkays): WR Jordan Addison26) Cowboys (w.connell4): LB Drew Sanders27) Payments (EHyungNim): LB Jack Campbell28) Bengals (mainmanham): TE Michael Mayer29) Saints (RiverCityEagle): DT Mazi Smith30) Eagles (ablesser88): DE Nolan Smith31) Chiefs (Hoosinole)

Now it’s time so that you can vote for who YOU assume needs to be chosen within the 2023 BGN Neighborhood Consensus Mock Draft.

1) Panthers: QB C.J. Stroud2) Texans: QB Bryce Young3) Cardinals: EDGE Will Anderson4) Colts: QB Anthony Richardson5) Seahawks: DT Jalen Carter6) Lions: DE Tyree Wilson7) Raiders: OT Paris Johnson Jr.8) Falcons: CB Christian Gonzalez9) Bears: OT Peter Skoronski10) Eagles: CB Devon Witherspoon11) Titans: WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba12) Texans: DE Myles Murphy13) Jets: OT Broderick Jones14) Patriots: CB Joey Porter Jr.15) Packers: DE Nolan Smith16) Commanders: OT Darnell Wright17) Steelers: CB Deonte Banks18) Lions: DT Calijah Kancey19) Buccaneers: QB Will Levis20) Seahawks: DE Lukas Van Ness21) Chargers: RB Bijan Robinson22) Ravens: WR Quentin Johnston23) Vikings: QB Hendon Hooker24) Jaguars: DB Brian Branch25) Giants: WR Jordan Addison26) Cowboys: TE Michael Mayer27) Payments: LB Jack Campbell28) Bengals: TE Dalton Kincaid29) Saints: DT Mazi Smith30) Eagles: