Georgia Star Defender Drawing ‘Most’ Draft Interest From Bears

Jalen Carter has gotten a good amount of pre-draft attention from the Chicago Bears, but so, too, has one of his former Georgia teammates.

In an interview with Matt Lombardo of Heavy Sports, Georgia pass rusher Nolan Smith confirmed the Bears and Philadelphia Eagles are the two teams who have expressed the “most interest” in him leading up to the 2023 NFL draft that begins Thursday, April 27.

Smith is a consensus first-round pick who could potentially be a surprise selection for the Bears at No. 9 overall or one of their preferred targets if they trade further down. The 6-foot-2, 238-pound pass rusher racked up nine sacks and 47 pressures over his final two seasons as a member of the star-studded Bulldogs defense and was invited for a two-day top 30 visit with the Bears back at the beginning of April.

“My goal 100 percent is getting eight or more sacks, getting a lot of tackles for loss, a lot of pressure, and really affecting the quarterback,” Smith told Lombardo one day before the start of the first round. “It’s not really about sacks, it’s about getting pressure on the quarterback. That’s my job as a pass-rusher. That’s how I look at it, my goal every year.”

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Nolan Smith Offers QB Disruptor, Defensive Leader

Smith built a reputation for being one of the most physical players in college football over the past few seasons, displaying a penchant for violence in the trenches as well as a relentless motor that keeps him fighting to the finish on every snap. He also brings an enticing element of athleticism to the table that allows him to work especially well as a speed rusher bending around the edges — which the Bears could certainly stand to gain after signing mostly heavier defensive line talent in 2023 free agency.

At the NFL Scouting Combine, Smith also crossed rare thresholds both in his 40-yard dash time and his vertical jump. He blazed to the finish in 4.39 seconds in the 40, clocking the second-fastest time by a defensive lineman since 2003. Meanwhile, his 41.5-inch vertical jump was the best in event history for someone of his weight (238).

“A team’s getting a [player] that’s going to affect the quarterback by trash talking, being in his ear, always trying to hit his hand while he’s throwing, trying to get a sack-fumble every time, and getting a lot of tackles for loss, re-setting the line of scrimmage, the same things I did at Georgia,” Smith told Lombardo.

The Bears would also be getting another thing they value in Smith: a defensive leader for their locker room. Last fall, Georgia coach Kirby Smart lauded Smith as a “natural leader” throughout the Bulldogs’ run to the national championship and made it clear that Smith has possessed that quality ever since he first met him as a middle schooler. That type of player checks an important box for Bears general manager Ryan Poles, who cited passion and love for football as key traits he seeks in potential roster additions.

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Roquan Smith Spoke ‘Highly’ of Bears’ Organization

A week before the draft, Smith now has his own first-hand experience with the Bears to lean on as he prepares to be selected. But before he traveled to Chicago for his top 30 visit, he reached out to a former Bulldog-turned-Bear — All-Pro Roquan Smith — to get his impression on the Bears’ organization and heard only good things from him.

“Oh man, what a great organization,” Smith told Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Chicago back on March 28 ahead of his top 30 visit with the Bears. “I talked to Roquan about the Bears organization and he said nothing but highly things about them. I did have a meeting with them and hopefully I get up there and do a top 30 visit with them. … But man, it’s just a great organization. I hear nothing but amazing things about them.”

Roquan Smith’s positive words about the Bears might come as a bit of a surprise given how his tenure in Chicago ended. Last offseason, he held out of the Bears’ training camp while trying to negotiate a new contract extension with the team and was ultimately dealt to the Baltimore Ravens at the trade deadline after the two sides failed to reach an agreement. While Smith had wanted to stay in Chicago, though, it seems he remains fond of the organization and coaching staff under head coach Matt Eberflus.

“He told me just about the defense,” Nolan Smith said, adding that Roquan Smith told him Eberflus lets his defenders “flow” similar to how he is used to operating under head coach Kirby Smart at Georgia. “They talk about how much they love him and let him be free on defense and let him go and play like we play at Georgia, just go out there and have fun and just be 11 dogs on the field.”

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