Georgia outside linebacker Nolan Smith was taken by the Philadelphia Eagles in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft with the No. 30 pick.

Smith is from Savannah, Ga., and measured in at 6-foot-2 and 238 pounds at this year’s NFL combine. He was a multi-year starter and team captain for the Georgia Bulldogs.

As a senior, Smith had 18 tackles, 7 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. Smith was limited to just eight games due to a torn pectoral muscle he suffered in the team’s win over Florida. Smith is expected to be fully healed from the injury.

Even though he was sidelined during his senior season, Smith still had a huge impact on his team. Georgia teammates raved about his leadership abilities and how he remained engaged with the team.

“NFL teams will value someone who can impact their team when they’re not playing,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “I told him, the Ohio State win, about 20 percent of that win goes to him because he was over on that sideline never doubting, and just kept preaching. It’s little things like that that make a difference in a team.”

Smith arrived at Georgia with much fanfare as he was the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2019 recruiting cycle. He had just 11.5 sacks during his Georgia career, but part of that can be attributed to how Georgia uses its outside linebackers. The Bulldogs have also sent a host of defenders to the NFL in recent years, including outside linebackers Azeez Ojulari and Jermaine Johnson.

Despite the meager production, Smith solidified himself as a first-round pick thanks to a standout NFL combine performance. He ran a 4.39 40-yard dash, the fastest of any front seven defender, and posted a 41.5-inch vertical. The only other player to do so in the history of the NFL combine is Vernon Davis. His athleticism, along with his strong football character, is a big reason he is a first-round pick.

“It just would make me know that all that I have to work for is still there,” Smith said on being drafted. “My dream is still there to be captured really. I still get choked up, worked up thing about it because I know my grandma she is going to be crying. That’s all I want to be

Smith becomes the seventh member of the 2021 Georgia defense taken in the first round. Five of them went in last year’s draft, while Smith joins Jalen Carter in this year’s draft. The Philadelphia Eagles took Carter with pick No. 9. Offensive tackle Broderick Jones was taken with pick No. 14.

What an NFL team is getting in Nolan Smith

2023 NFL Combine results: Edge Nolan Smith

40-yard dash: 4.39

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 238 pounds

Broad jump: 10′8

Vertical jump: 41.5′

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