Getty Nolan Smith says he has drawn the "most" interest from the Bears and Eagles ahead of the 2023 NFL draft.
As the 2023 NFL draft nears, Georgia linebacker Nolan Smith could be one of the first players at the position to hear his name called, and he might even join a former teammate, who he has an absolutely ridiculous nickname for.
Appearing on Heavy Sports’ The Matt Lombardo Show ahead of the NFL draft, Smith revealed that the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears have been the two teams that have shown the most pre-draft interest in selecting him. If Smith is picked by the Eagles, he’ll be reunited with former Bulldogs teammate, defensive lineman Jordan Davis, chosen in the first round by Philadelphia in 2022.
Smith happens to have an outrageous nickname for Davis.
“He’s humongous,” Smith said, appearing on behalf of the Call of Duty suite at the NFL draft in Kansas City. “He’s just really a dancing polar bear.”
Davis, 6-foot-6 and 336 pounds, is certainly a space-eater, and while he only played sparingly as a rookie, Smith believes that his former teammate has plenty of upside after producing 18 total tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss last season.
“It takes three people to block him,” Smith explained. “He’s taking up three gaps. He can really pass rush. He can do so much just to be a 300-pound man. That’s what makes him special. To be over 300 pounds, and be able to move like that, I call him a little dancing bear.”
In 2022, Davis struggled to crack the Eagles’ defensive line rotation and missed significant time after landing on injured reserve with a high-ankle sprain. Given his talent, and the need up front, 2023 has the potential to be a vastly different story for the former Georgia standout.
Davis could see an expanded role along the Eagles’ defensive line, following the departures of veterans Ndamukong Suh and Linval Joseph this offseason. The former No. 13 overall pick in the draft, Davis could open the season starting alongside veteran Fletcher Cox.
What Nolan Smith Hopes to Bring His NFL Team
Nolan Smith has seen his stock rise as the draft approaches, and it’s easy to see why.
The 6-foot-2 and 238-pound pass-rusher produced double-digit pressures on the quarterback in each of his three seasons in Athens, despite being limited to just eight games played during the 2022 campaign.
According to Pro Football Focus, Smith produced an elite 25.5% pass-rush win-rate, on his way to 2.0 sacks and 12 hurries last season.
Across three seasons, Smith totaled 12 sacks, 41 hurries, and 12 quarterback hits, underscoring his ability to be a disruptive force off the edge. In a league that’s predicated on rushing the passer, it wouldn’t be surprising if teams are lining up to take Smith early in the draft.
Smith says that if he is a consistent playmaker behind the line of scrimmage for his new team, he’ll be able to look back and view his rookie season as a success.
“It’s 100 percent getting eight or more sacks,” Smith said was his goal for his rookie campaign. “And, just causing a lot of tackles for loss, getting a lot of pressure, and really affecting the quarterback.
“It’s really not just about sacks. If I’m getting pressure, and affecting the quarterback, that’s just my job as a pass-rusher, and that’s how I look at it when I go into every year.”