The Philadelphia Eagles’ front seven is in a bit of a state of transition.
All-Pro defensive tackle Fletcher Cox has retired, and the linebacking corps will heavily feature free agent newcomers Devin White and potentially Zack Baun.
However, one of the Eagles’ top draft picks from a stellar 2023 NFL Draft class could be primed to take flight this fall, in his second NFL season.
Nolan Smith the Eagles’ 2024 Breakout Star?
The Eagles chose Nolan Smith with the No. 30 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, in hopes he would become an immediate contributor as a pass-rusher. However, injuries wreaked havoc with Smith’s rookie season.
As the 2024 season nears, CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso lists Smith as one of the young players around the league primed for a major rebound this fall.
“Younger than both 2024 first-round edge rushers Laiatu Latu and Jared Verse,” Trapasso points out, of Smith. “Opportunity awaits Smith with the Eagles. While the team essentially flipped Haason Reddick for Bryce Huff, Smith’s deceptive point-of-attack power and block-shedding mastery — when healthy — should get him on the field on early downs to start his second season in the NFL.
“But it’s not as though he’s incapable of generating pressure on the quarterback. This is the former No. 1 overall recruit in the nation who had a 40-yard dash, 10-yard split, vertical, and broad jump all at the 95th percentile or higher at the edge position at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. Now, seemingly fully healed, I expect Smith to play much closer to how he did at Georgia in 2022 when he had a pressure-creation rate of 18.6%.”
Given the Eagles’ makeover up front, Smith should have the opportunity to prove he can contribute quality snaps and wreak havoc in opposing backfields.
Smith will look to dramatically build on a rookie campaign in which he only generated eight total quarterback pressures.
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