Should We Be Worried About Nolan Smith Going In 2nd Season?

There was initially excitement when the Eagles drafted Nolan Smith. He was a name people talked about the Eagles potentially taking with the 10th pick. So when he fell all the way to pick 30, people thought it was a steal. You got a guy at pick 30 that many people would have been happy with at 10. Surely Howie Roseman made out like a bandit, right?

A year later, that answer is not so clear. Nolan Smith was a major disappointment in year 1. Some will tell you that is because he didn't get a chance to play. I am more inclined to believe it is because he couldn't get on the field.

Yes, he was buried behind Haason Reddick and Josh Sweat, but we saw in 2022 that the Eagles are willing to rotate guys if they trust the players behind them. If the Eagles thought Smith could help, they would have found a way to sue him. With their pass rush struggling so much at the end of the year, if they thought he gave them a better chance, he would have been on the field.

Nolan Smith has elite athletic traits. It is why he was such a well-regarded recruit before he got to Georiga, and it is why scouts loved him so much before the draft. But even at Georgia, where he had a lot of talent around him, he was never productive. In 46 career games at Georgia, he had just 11.5 sacks.

The hope was that this year he would make the jump. That we would see him live up to the hype he came into the NFL with. That those athletic traits that had people excited about him would finally materialize into production. They pretty much need him to with Haason Reddick not being here anymore. But will he?

We have heard a lot about Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis looking great in camp. Bryce Huff seemed to struggle early but came on strong late. We have heard a lot about a lot of guys. But one name we have not heard much about is Nolan Smith, which is not exactly a good thing.

There are positions where your name not getting mentioned can be a good thing. Edge Rusher is not one of those positions. Anything you do well, whether it is getting after the QB, shutting down the run, or breaking up the pocket is going to get noticed. But we have hardly heard a peep out of Nolan Smith.

He had a sack against Drake Maye sure, but he also had a late hit in that same game. In game 3, he was a starter and out there for much of the game. But watching the game, you might not have even known, because he failed to generate much pressure or get noticed in any meaningful way. The fact he was even out there while many other notable players were not, is not a great sign of how the Eagles feel about him

Players don't become busts after 1 year, but you also expect a 1st round pick to contribute by year 2. And he does not look like a guy prepared to take that next step. He still looks like a guy with great speed, but who lacks the strength to beat his guy consistently.

Small Edge Rushers have worked in the past, but they have also failed. People like to compare him to Haason Reddick, who also started a bit slow. But Reddick had productive years in College. Smith hasn't been productive since High School. People like to say Brandon Graham started slow, but Graham had two straight seasons with double-digit sacks to close out his college career.

I am not saying to give up on Nolan Smith. Maybe he figures it out. But the concern with him is that he lacks the strength to be a great Edge Rusher, and nothing we have seen this year, apart from him coming in a bit heavier, suggests his play strength is any better this season.

The Eagles Edge Rush room is a major concern after trading away Haason Reddick. They need Nolan Smith to be good. But right now, I can't say I have much faith in that happening.

Howie Roseman loves to make moves during, or even after, Training Camp. In 2022, he traded for CJ Gardner Johnson at the end of camp. In 2017, he traded for Ronald Darby late in camp. This year, he did it again. On Thursday The Eagles acquired Jahan Dotson from the Commanders.

It seems each season, Howie waits through camp to see what the biggest need is, then makes a move to address it. Even last year, he brought in Zach Cunningham. That one didn't work so well. Linebacker continued to be an issue throughout the season, even if he was one of the few parts of that group that worked.

Dotson is the latest example. It was clear getting a WR3 was a big need. None of the guys they had on the team were stepping into that role. Parris Campbell and John Ross were disappointments. Johnny Wilson flashed, but you can't rely on a 6th round rookie. They needed a guy they could rely on. Not just to give them that extra option, but for insurance in case Devonta Smith or AJ Brown get hurt.

Related: Jahan Dotson Gives Eagles The WR3 They Were Looking For

Dotson gives them that. Is he a star? No. The Commanders drafted him in the 1st round, and he has not lived up to that pick. But he doesn't need to be a star. He will be the 5th option, behind Brown, Smith, Saquon Barkley, and Dallas Goedert. His production last season with bad QB play is exactly what you want out of that 5th option. 40 or so catches, 500 yards, and a few TDs.

But what did the NFL world think? Do the people around the league think this was a great move? Was the excitement we felt after the move, matched by people outside the Philly area?

Last week, we were not happy with Dan Orlovsky after he didn't give Jalen Hurts much credit in his QB trait rankings. Now, we can all like him again. After the trade went down he got the chance to react on NFL Live and gushed about the move. He said they now have the best WR trio in the NFL.  They went from WR3 being arguably their biggest need to it being a strength, according to Dan.

Emmanuel Acho is not Eagles fans' favorite talking head. He might be a former Eagles, but there have been a lot of times where he had bad hot takes about the Eagles or Jalen Hurts. Even he had to give the Eagles credit here though. And he made a solid point. Dotson will get to go up against the other team's 4th best guy in coverage, maybe 5th.

Ross Tucker might be slightly biased, but he had strong praise for the move. He pointed out his penchant for finding the endzone, and his versatility, but also that he is someone who can be both the WR3, but also fill in for one of the main guys if needed. Ross Tucker also acknowledged that the fact he is a local guy certainly makes the deal a little sweeter.

If you aren't familiar with Wale, he is a rapper. He is also a big Commanders fan, and he was unhappy seeing Dotson go. He wants Howie Roseman and the Eagles investigated for racketeering. He also joked around with Eagles fans saying he loves them, but if he sees a Dotson Eagles jersey at one of his shows he is going to have them tossed. And he threw in a shot at the Cowboys.

We know about the Georgia to Eagles connection, but is a Penn State connection emerging too? They had already acquired Saquon, now they add Dotson to the mix. We still don't like their head coach who almost got the Eagles in trouble, but we will take all the Penn State alums we can get if it helps the team, which these two certainly do. They also have PJ Mustipher who is a Penn State Alum on defense. I bet Micah Parsons is feeling FOMO, especially with the Cowboys being cheap right now over his contract extension.