2023 NFL Draft Profile: EDGE Nolan Smith

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A native of Savannah, Georgia, Nolan Smith is one of the next top defenders to come from the Bulldogs defense. With that dominant, historic defense, Smith was part of the back-to-back National Championship teams in the last two years. He appeared in 46 games across his four seasons at Georgia. In total, Smith tallied 114 tackles, 21 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks for the Bulldogs. Unfortunately, he missed part of the 2022 season due to a torn pec suffered in late October. Despite that injury ending his season, Smith is definitely on track to be ready for training camp.

Top Strengths

First-Step Explosiveness

When coming off of the line of scrimmage, Nolan Smith is extremely sudden. The rate at which he gets home to the quarterback or the ball carrier allows for plays to possibly be shut down immediately. On the flip side, Smith is efficient with how he uses his speed. The tempo at which he fires off of the ball can keep opposing blockers in limbo or guessing, so to speak. Smith displays long, yet crisp, strides when crashing into the backfield. As a result, this defender is seemingly able to track down the ball carrier from any area of the field.

Versatility

There is almost no limit to what Nolan Smith can do on the football field. It also helps when you have someone that possesses the leadership, energy and instincts that this defender has. Overall, Smith can play with his hand in the dirt in a three-point stance. He can fire off the ball from a two-point stance as well. More importantly, Smith is able to stunt or twist with smoothness as a pass rusher. Georgia even had him drop back into coverage on occasion. His read and react ability being as sharp as it is definitely makes him valuable in that area, to boot.

Defending The Run

With the athleticism and explosiveness of Nolan Smith, it is rare to see an EDGE defender enter the NFL with a prowess as a run defender too. But, this is a player who is willing to work hard in dirty areas to make stops on the run. Smith is truly refined in setting a firm edge, while still being able to readjust and condense his angles to the ball. He is sneaky good with his finishing power and physicality as a tackler. By being able to stick his face in the fan against the run game at his size, Smith can be a true three-down player.

Areas Of Improvement

Pass Rush Repertoire

Nolan Smith already has a decent baseline as a pass rusher. However, further building his pass rush repertoire will be vital for him being a long-term threat as a complete pass rusher. He is largely used to winning with speed and physicality. At the same time, Smith is used to using just one possible pass rush move at the point of attack. Readjusting his pass rush arc, while still creating worthy secondary hand counter moves are items that are necessary for him to add moving forward.

Hand Counter Moves

Piggybacking off of that last thought a bit more, Nolan Smith is a bit of a one-trick pony with his hand counter moves. He has mostly been effective with a long-arm move. Smith will also look to throw a swim move in there from time to time. Nevertheless, the Georgia product does not have much experience having to throw in additional hand counter moves. There are also moments where his hand timing can be a bit late.

Utilizing Length

Nolan Smith is not necessarily lacking in length. On top of that, there are very few opposing blockers who will be outmatched by him in that area at the NFL level. There are chances for him to utilize his length more successfully. When watching him at Georgia, he seems to get leverage by outmuscling opponents, rather than extending his arms consistently. There are also opportunities for Smith to disengage from blocks earlier by popping his hands earlier at the point of attack.

Ideal Role

There is plenty of variety to the game of Nolan Smith. Perhaps, there is any style of defense that he can fit into and thrive. Smith is best suited to handle the role of a 3-4 outside linebacker, though, if you had to pick one base defense for him. With his ability to crash, loop and slash against offensive linemen, Smith can win in any way possible. Add in his athleticism and explosiveness, and this defender can muddy up the line of scrimmage from the edge in a multitude of ways.

Potential Fits

It feels like Nolan Smith is all but certain to be a first-round pick at this point. If that is indeed true, let’s find three possible fits for him in the top 31 picks. The Pittsburgh Steelers could be a bit of a shocker for someone like Smith. They may not have a true need at EDGE defender, but further establishing the pass rush would put opposing blocking units in a bind.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could also make sense, as head coach Todd Bowles needs more production and reliability from the pass rush. Finally, the Kansas City Chiefs could be looking to add more versatility to the defensive line. They already have some of that. However, no one on Kansas City has the explosiveness and bend that Nolan Smith has.

Be on the lookout for more FPC 2023 NFL Draft prospect profiles throughout the next few weeks. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.