Georgia edge rusher Nolan Smith was selected at No. 30 overall in the first-round of the 2023 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, joining former teammate Jalen Carter, who was taken by the Eagles at Pick No. 9.
Smith and Carter are the second pair of Bulldogs to head to Philadelphia off of the record-breaking 2021 Georgia defense following Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean, who were drafted in 2022.
Let's go, @SmithNoland2!#NFLDraft | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/FDmkxicF40
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) April 28, 2023
Smith was the unquestioned defensive leader during the Bulldogs back-to back national championship seasons.
The Savannah, Ga., native had 18 tackles and led the team with three sacks and 16 quarterback hurries before suffering a season ending torn pectoral versus Florida.
Smith wowed teams at the 2023 NFL combine with a 4.39 40-yard dash at 6-foot-3, 236 pounds.
Nolan Smith had a 91.2 PFF Run Defense grade in 2021
20 OLB/Edge prospects have run a sub-4.55 forty at the NFL Combine since 2015. None of them had a college season with a run defense grade higher than Smith’s in 2021… Rare to see a prospect with his speed and two-gap ability
— Graham Coffey (@DawgOutWest) April 27, 2023
That currently makes eight Georgia Bulldogs taken in the last two NFL drafts combined.
[mm-video type=video id=01gz2zr92bw565jkv6g1 playlist_id=01eqbz2y40j067srkf player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gz2zr92bw565jkv6g1/01gz2zr92bw565jkv6g1-ff20e4c9480027c900198842a38c11c2.jpg]