The Philadelphia Eagles are the reigning NFC champions and hold the 10th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft order thanks to a trade last offseason with the New Orleans Saints. Just hours before Philadelphia is put on the clock, there’s a growing buzz about who the Eagles will pick first.
Philadelphia acquired the 10th overall selection in a pre-draft trade with New Orleans last year. As part of the deal, the Eagles dealt the 16th, 19th and 194th overall picks to the Saints in exchange for the 18th, 101st and 237th overall selections along with a 2023 first and 2024 second-round selection.
- Nolan Smith career stats: 20 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks
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The Saints finished 7-10, winning three of their last four games, securing a top-10 choice for Philadelphia. Amid swirling NFL Draft rumors regarding Philadelphia’s plans with the pick, there’s new buzz n exactly what player the club might be targeting.
An NFL general manager told Peter King of NBC Sports that the Eagles love Georgia Bulldogs edge rusher Nolan Smith. It played an influential role in King’s final NFL Draft mock, with Philadelphia using its top choice on the 6-foot-2 pass rusher.
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Smith, the 247 Sports’ No. 1 recruit in 2019, never reached his ceiling at Georgia. He recorded five sacks in his first 18 games with the Bulldogs’ defense. After recording 4.5 sacks in 2021, Smith seemed to be on the verge of putting it all together in his final season. However, a torn pectoral muscle ended his senior year in October.
- Nolan Smith RAS: 9.23 out of 10
The 22-year-old entered the pre-draft process viewed as a likely top-25 pick. He then showed up at the NFL Combine, delivering some of the best athletic testing numbers among all participants. NFL.com rated him as the most athletic pass rusher in the 2023 NFL Draft, in large part thanks to his 4.39-second 40 time and a 41.5-inch vertical jump.
Smith posted an elite Relative Athletic Score, earning top marks for both his composite speed and explosion. In terms of his athletic comparisons, Eagles’ pass rusher Haason Reddick (9.01) is one of the top edge rushers with a similar RAS profile.
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Philadelphia would be an ideal landing spot for Smith. He would be a rotational player, receiving snaps behind Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham and Derek Barness. With the Eagles’ edge rushers aging, though, Smith could become a long-term starter. If he is drafted with the 10th pick, the Eagles will have three recent Georgia players (Smith, Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean) playing prominent roles defensively next season.