Eagles Rookie Review: Nolan Smith must provide more value in Year 2

One among my favourite issues to do each low season is to check my post-draft notes on the Eagles’ rookies after which analyze how they carried out after they bought an opportunity. I received’t write a full scouting report as a result of I all the time do this after they’re drafted. You could find Nolan Smith’s scouting report right here.

Beforehand on this sequence: Jalen Carter

Stats

General

Lots of it’s possible you’ll keep in mind that I used to be not the most important Nolan Smith fan final low season. I’ve to be sincere when watching gamers, and I simply didn’t see a high go rusher when watching his school movie. I noticed a fantastic athlete with a really excessive ceiling. Many followers wished him at choose 10, however I believed that was too excessive for him. Here’s what I stated about Nolan Smith final yr, with some feedback primarily based on what he did this yr.

I can’t assist however need freakishly athletic gamers on my staff. It might be enjoyable, and the upside could be very excessive due to the motor and pace. However I’ve seen Nolan Smith mocked to the Eagles at 10 and I don’t see it. That could be a excessive choose to danger on a traits participant with restricted manufacturing. I can think about the Eagles liking him as a result of his closest comp might be Haason Reddick, however that doesn’t imply he’ll immediately turn out to be him. Reddick took a couple of years to develop (and was a greater rusher in school), and I feel the identical might want to occur for Nolan Smith. He’s a helpful participant who flies across the subject and could have a task, however I would like a greater go rusher at 10.

It’s solely been one yr, however I really feel like I used to be proper to be skeptical of Smith as a go rusher. I stated he would take a couple of years to develop, and I hope that’s nonetheless the case as a result of he appeared extremely uncooked as a go rusher this yr. If you happen to look again at his sacks and pressures, they have been typically unblocked, and I didn’t see quite a lot of pass-rush strikes. He struggled to counter towards good offensive linemen, and I didn’t see any basic ‘bend the sting’ kind of rushes you need to see from a 1st spherical choose.

Anybody who acts like Nolan Smith’s weight is just not a priority in any respect is kidding themselves, for my part. He could have reps the place he simply seems small and lightweight, and highly effective offensive linemen could have their means with him. However that doesn’t imply he can be a foul participant. Everybody will lose reps. I count on Smith to be an influence participant from yr one and can contribute rather a lot in varied methods whereas creating as a pass-rusher.

Regardless of being fairly crucial of him typically, I did count on Smith to be an influence participant in yr one and make a couple of performs. Sadly, I don’t assume he bought the snaps to contribute, however we did see some profitable performs the place he confirmed off his expertise and athleticism, particularly in run protection.

Smith can be in a fantastic scenario as a result of he’ll seemingly by no means get chipped or doubled in his first yr or two due to how proficient the Eagles are upfront. I favor him as an EDGE defender within the Eagles’ 5-man fronts and extra of a moveable off-ball linebacker in 4-man fronts reasonably than a strict defensive finish (aside from apparent pass-rushing conditions). I might be so disenchanted if the Eagles simply lined up Smith as an every-down go rusher. He needs to be utilized in protection, used on unique blitzes, utilized in stunts and so forth. The Eagles needs to be artistic with him and make the most of his athletic profile and never count on him to beat actually good pass-blocking tackles on a one-on-one foundation constantly.

I used to be disenchanted with how Sean Desai used him general. I don’t assume we noticed him used on unique blitzes or stunts sufficient and so they did simply ask him to be a go rusher too typically. I stated I didn’t assume he can be adequate to win one-on-one, and I feel that performed out all through the season.

Nevertheless, there was a giant situation with Nolan Smith’s recreation that I haven’t seen mentioned a lot on-line. I anticipated Smith to be a jack-of-all-trades defender who may carry out quite a lot of roles, however he struggled in protection all through the season, which limits his capacity transferring ahead. I hope the Eagles work on his capacity to drop into protection this low season as a result of I don’t assume he can be adequate as a go rusher to win constantly.

I feel he must be considered extra as a fantastic athlete who can carry out quite a lot of roles reasonably than a straight-up EDGE go rusher. However I do know many followers will disagree with me right here!

There’s no level in mendacity and saying I’ve by no means had any issues, however I feel at worst you’re getting a twitchy athlete, with a excessive motor, who seems to be an unimaginable character addition within the locker room. I simply can’t see him busting or not having any worth. I’m not certain he can be a ‘celebrity’ go rusher (he strikes me as a 5-8 sack man reasonably than a ten+) until he actually improves, however he can be helpful in so many various methods. He’s a modern-day jack-of-all-trades defender who can accomplish that many issues as an off-ball linebacker/EDGE defender and shouldn’t simply be requested to hurry the quarterback each snap. You are able to do quite a lot of issues schematically with Smith and I’m extremely to see how the Eagles use him over the subsequent few years.

I’ve not given up on Nolan Smith as a result of his rookie season was what I anticipated. I by no means noticed the go rusher that others did. I want we bought to see him extra so he may develop. It felt like a wasted season for Nolan Smith in some ways. However I hope he realized some worthwhile classes because the season progressed, even when he wasn’t enjoying a lot. You possibly can see the expertise…

The Future

I’m very skeptical of Nolan Smith, as you may inform, however this doesn’t imply that he has no worth. This can be a very apparent assertion, however when you can educate approach, you can’t educate athleticism. Nolan Smith has the sort of athleticism that was worthy of a 1st spherical choose. If he works onerous on his approach as a go rusher, there isn’t a cause why he can’t be a worthwhile go rusher transferring ahead. As I didn’t pre-draft, I nonetheless don’t see him as a ten+ sack man, however I count on him to be extra worthwhile than he was this previous season.

As well as, there’s something none of us can predict, and that’s how onerous gamers work off the sphere. Every thing I hear about Nolan Smith is that he’s a unbelievable man who needs nothing higher than to be nice. Many Eagles followers appear to love him rather a lot due to what he says off the sphere (so I think about a few of this text can be unpopular!), however the work he places in off the sphere will in all probability decide whether or not he can hit his ceiling.

Nolan Smith looks as if a unbelievable man, and I hope he will get extra enjoying time this yr. My intestine feeling nonetheless tells me that he won’t ever become the go rusher that many followers hope he can turn out to be, however I nonetheless assume he may be extraordinarily worthwhile as an athletic freak who can rush the quarterback, be a stable run defender, and drop into protection when requested. I’m wanting ahead to seeing how Vic Fangio views him, and he’s somebody I’ll have a really shut eye on transferring ahead. And naturally, it’s all the time value remembering that there’s all the time stuff occurring behind the scenes that we don’t learn about!

If you’d like much more evaluation on the Eagles’ rookies, I’ve spoken about a couple of of them on my podcast over at Eagles Pin-Pull Community, which you’ll find right here. Please be happy to hear!