April 28, 2023   3 MIN READ

Total Package

Eagles Draft Two Top Georgia Prospects in Round One

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In round one of the 2023 NFL Draft, the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles doubled up on both the defensive line and on Bulldogs.

The board fell in the Birds’ favor, allowing them to add two of the top players in the draft with Georgia interior lineman Jalen Carter at pick nine and edge rusher Nolan Smith at pick 30.

Greg Cosell joined “Inside The Birds” host Geoff Mosher to break down the newest members of the team. 

The Eagles draft Georgia’s Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith in round one of the 2023 NFL Draft

Jalen Carter

Greg Cosell: “There is nothing about his game where you say that is a significant weakness. No one is a finished product, because the level of competition, goes up significantly, but there is really not a lot about Jalen Carter where you can say ‘I don’t think he can do that.’

Geoff Mosher: “He was on their board and they were comfortable with him, visited with him, interviewed his defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann for their defensive coordinator job. They had a ton of information on him. We sort of doubted he would make it to number 10, he did not make it to [pick] 10, the Eagles had to jump to nine to get him.”

Cosell: “I watched a ton of tape on him, just his ability to move people was pretty impressive, and also his speed and athleticism, this guy is just a really good prospect, He’ll get in better shape, too.”

Nolan Smith

Cosell: “He fits exactly the way they want to play. Nolan Smith can be used in multiple ways, but ideally you probably want him as a ‘sam’ linebacker in your five-man front, which is the position Haason Reddick plays. Smith is such a gifted athlete that he can play snaps as a stacked ‘backer., which he did in the 2021 semifinal game against Michigan. It would not surprise me if to get him on the field, because he is an incredibly smart, aware kid and a great leader, if they thought he could get some snaps at stack linebacker.”

Mosher: “He ran a 4.39 [40-yard dash] at 6’3, 238 pounds with a 41.5 inch vertical, which is a better vertical than D.K. Metcalf and a better 40 than Breece Hall. You’re talking about an edge rusher who tests like a skill position player, that had to be a big motivating factor in the Eagles staying at pick 30 when everybody’s trading up and down and getting a guy they had high value on.”

Cosell: “He plays more physical than the 238 pounds suggest, he has upper body power, heavy hands, he moves people. He played the run exceptionally well as an on-the-ball edge player; he took on and physically jarred pullers and moved them. This kid is a good football player and an explosive athlete.”

– Benjamin Paul is a staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.

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