Eagles take slow and steady approach in latest mock draft
The Philadelphia Eagles' first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft won’t be very big and their second pick won’t be very fast. At least that’s how Will Brinson of CBSSports.com sees it in his latest mock draft.
With the 10th pick in the first round, Brinson thinks the Eagles will take Georgia edge rusher, Nolan Smith. Smith is undersized for an edge rusher, but even at 235 pounds, his combine numbers are just too good to ignore.
Smith’s time of 4.39 in the 40-yard dash was the best among linebackers and defensive linemen. His 41.5-inch vertical jump was tops among edge rushers and his broad jump score was top-ten for the position. NFL Next Gen Stats ranked his performance as the second-most athletic among EDGE prospects and fifth-best overall at the position.
Numbers aside, Smith is no sure thing. He’ll struggle against bigger, stronger offensive linemen if he doesn’t put on weight, and Georgia rarely used him in coverage.
Still, Smith showed steady improvement in three years as a Bulldog. His best performance came in 2021. Playing alongside Nakobe Dean and Jordan Davis, Smith had 55 tackles, 3.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception. Davis and Dean joined the Eagles last season and could use a little help from their old teammate.
With the 30th pick, Brinson believes the team will take Ohio State’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The talented wide receiver went off in 2021 with 95 catches for 1,606 yards and nine touchdowns, but hamstring issues limited him to just three games in 2022.
Smith-Njigba ran the 40-yard dash in 4.53 seconds at Ohio State’s Pro Day. He didn’t run at the combine, but if he did, his time would have tied for 26th out of the 43 wide receivers. But there’s more to the position than straight-line speed.
As a Buckeye, Smith-Njigba made up for his lack of speed with athleticism, quick acceleration and by running crisp routes.
Seen mainly as a slot receiver, Smith-Njigba uses soft hands to make contested catches in traffic. Quez Watkins is Philadelphia’s slot receiver at the moment, but after three unremarkable seasons as an Eagle, he could use a little competition.
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