With the No. 30 selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles went back to the Dirty South to select Georgia EDGE Nolan Smith.
That makes a pair of ex-Bulldogs selected on the night, as they moved up to No. 9 earlier to take DT Jalen Carter - and with a pair of 2022 picks in first-round DT Jordan Davis and third-round LB Nakobe Dean, there are now four members of Georgia’s 2021 National Championship Defense – one considered perhaps the best collegiate defense ever – now playing in Philly.
Smith slid down many draft boards because of a torn pectoral muscle that ended his 2022 season in late-October, but he wreaked havoc over four seasons in Athens, recording 114 tackles (21 for loss), 11.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, and one interception.
The two-time National Champion measures 6-foot-2 ¼ and 238 pounds, and ran a 4.39 second 40-yard dash at the combine, and he will now join Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, and Derek Barnett to make a Birds pass rush that notched 70 sacks last season even deeper.
Stick with 94WIP overnight and all day Friday for full reaction to the Eagles’ first-round haul!