0:02

Eagles Entertainment.

0:07

With the Kent pick in the NFL

0:09

Draft, The Philadelphia Eagle

0:11

twicked.

0:12

You're listening to the Journey to the Draft podcast.

0:17

Welcome to the Journey of the Draft podcast. I'm your host,

0:19

fran Duffy. Night one of the Draft.

0:21

It is in the books. It was awesome.

0:23

Thing was everything that we hoped for earlier

0:25

this week, myself, Dan Bruger, Greg co Sel in

0:28

our final Q and A episode, we said, you

0:30

know what, this is gonna be a crazy first round. There's

0:32

gonna be a lot of trades. There's gonna be some surprise

0:34

picks. Well, we got all of that in more here

0:36

in this first round, and the Eagles universally

0:39

one of the big winners of Night one. Not only do

0:41

they come away with one of the best players in the draft

0:43

in Jalen Carter. They trade up to number nine

0:45

to make Carter the pick, but then they also Stan

0:47

Patt at number thirty and they get Nolan

0:50

Smith, Carter's teammate with Georgia,

0:52

a player that a lot of people, including myself, would

0:54

have been thrilled for the Eagles to nab at ten.

0:57

Overall, they get him at number thirty. The

0:59

Eagles come away two of Georgia's best

1:01

defenders from the national championship team. A

1:03

lot to cover. We're going to get into that here with

1:05

Dane Brugler and Ben Fenl in our

1:07

Draft Buzz segment, we'll talk about

1:09

the two editions for the Eagles and some other big

1:12

topical items from around one of the drafts.

1:14

And then after that, I thought, you know what, we used to do

1:16

full episodes on this, but let's just kind of rewind

1:18

to just about eight months ago, just over

1:20

eight months ago, when we first started talking

1:22

about both Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith

1:25

here on the podcast. And again, this is just reason

1:27

to make sure you're always subscribed and listening

1:30

to the Journey of the Draft podcast because you would have gotten a heads

1:32

up on these two players way back last

1:34

summer before the college football season started.

1:36

So we'll do that there at the end of the episode.

1:39

If you've got any questions about this team,

1:41

any questions about the Eagles the NFL Draft

1:43

Round one, go leave it in our Apple podcast

1:45

page. We'll answer it here in an upcoming episode, or if

1:47

you just want to throw your supports say thanks for another

1:50

year here of the podcast. We appreciate

1:52

all reviews and five star ratings,

1:54

especially over on our Apple podcast page

1:56

that said, let's get the draft buzz. It's time to catch up

1:58

with Dane and Ben.

2:01

Now it's time for draft buzz.

2:05

All right, let's bring on now, Dan Brugler and Ben

2:08

Fenle, both of you guys out in Kansas City.

2:10

What a wild night one.

2:11

Obviously, the Eagles huge players here and we're

2:13

going to talk through that. Let's start obviously with the

2:15

Eagles trading up to number nine overall to

2:17

get Jalen Carter.

2:18

Dan.

2:19

This was a big discussion going into this

2:21

draft was where was Jalen Carter going to

2:23

go as high as five to Seattle,

2:25

as low as number nine to Chicago. That felt

2:28

like the range there, and the Eagles make a

2:30

move up, they take them at number nine. They're clearly

2:32

Chicago and not willing to pull the trigger

2:34

there and the Eagles come away with one of the best players in the draft.

2:37

I was told he was not getting past nine, and

2:39

turns out that was right, just not quite

2:41

the way we thought it would play out. But

2:44

I mean, obviously, Jalen Carter spent time

2:46

in Philadelphia with the GM

2:49

Howie Roseman with the coaching staff, and this is

2:51

a pick that you have to be comfortable with the person

2:53

as well as the player, and obviously

2:56

with the infrastructure of

2:58

the way this team is built. You think

3:00

about Jordan Davis, the first Trump pick last

3:03

year. You think about Nikobe Dean, two Georgia

3:05

players from last year's draft. Obviously

3:08

those guys signed off on Jalen Carter. I

3:10

think that that's a big piece of this puzzle.

3:12

And you know, it's something that

3:15

where the Eagles are is different

3:17

than where the Seahawks are with their building,

3:19

and it just all the things came

3:21

together for the Eagles at that point.

3:23

You make that little move up to get them,

3:26

and I mean you you potentially have the

3:28

best player in the draft at number nine.

3:30

Ben.

3:30

I'm not sure if you heard the press

3:32

conference, but Howie Roseman, Nick Sirianni, they

3:35

told a story of Jalen Carter on his visit

3:37

and in the auditorium, as you know, there's the basketball

3:40

net. They're right down at the bottom of the auditorium and

3:42

it's right next to the podium where they do the press conferences.

3:45

And apparently on the thirty visits this

3:47

year, Nick Sirianni spent his half

3:49

hour with the players playing Horse, like, Hey, we're just

3:51

gonna go down. We'll play a game of Horse and we'll shoot

3:53

the breeze. And for Jalen Carter's

3:55

game, he said, Nick beat Jalen Carter. But

3:58

at one point Jalen Carter just go stands under

4:00

the net and does a flat footed windmill dunk.

4:02

It says, all right, go ahead and go do That's

4:06

just an example of his freak show

4:08

athleticism.

4:10

Well, it seems slightly more exciting than the tic

4:12

tac toe. So it's nice to see the head

4:14

coach evolving in his competitive tactics.

4:16

But tremendous value pick at the ninth

4:18

overall, and like Dane said, just a

4:21

different building, different locker room. This is a

4:23

very mature locker room. This is a very

4:25

leadership dominant locker room with some

4:27

serious veterans that aren't going to allow

4:30

young players with maybe some trouble on

4:32

the field or trying to find their way as young

4:34

professionals, won't allow them to tank

4:37

a team tank a locker room. There's very strong

4:39

leadership with this Eagles team, seemingly

4:42

over the last twenty years or so.

4:44

This is one of the cornerstone.

4:45

Franchises of the NFL, and I just think

4:47

they feel very safe with themselves

4:50

and bringing in these types of players, which

4:52

he could have a clean record moving forward,

4:55

but he had some you know, things to

4:57

consider in the past that maybe led to

4:59

him dropping. Maybe not, But I think it's

5:01

a great value pick to a very secure locker

5:03

room and addressing serious

5:06

needs. In my opinion, I think looking to

5:08

the future that Fletcher Cox at four I three

5:10

tech position and then trying to replace

5:13

Javon Hargraves production last year,

5:15

I don't think we give him enough credit. Look

5:17

at the contract the San Francisco forty nine ers

5:19

gave a hardgrave. He had a huge impact

5:22

last year, and for every sack that reddick

5:24

or sweat hat off the edge, somebody was

5:26

bowling in the interior. So having that presence

5:28

and getting younger and hitting reset on the

5:31

interior defensive line, great value,

5:33

great need, great kid from a great

5:35

program. Really excited to see him in Eagles Greed.

5:38

Yeah, and Dan, you know, one of the big knocks on

5:40

this draft class as a whole was the fact

5:42

that all you know, it's not that deep of a class,

5:44

it's not that great of a class. But in any

5:46

year, Jalen Carter is going to be viewed

5:48

as a top five overall prospect.

5:50

Right.

5:50

He was that kind of talent.

5:52

So now the Eagles, you know, in that position to

5:54

be able to get a player of that quality, that's

5:56

not something that you were planning on having

5:58

that access to in the years to come. Right,

6:01

you just extended Jalen Hursts. You think you're going to

6:03

be in position to win the NFCS a challenge

6:05

for the NFC, compete for Super Bowls year

6:07

in and year out. To get a player of that quality

6:09

and take your shot while you've got it that some

6:11

of the Eagles had to take advantage off here in this draft.

6:14

No doubt. The circumstances just

6:16

a little bit different for the Eagles and playing

6:19

in the Super Bowl not too long ago, and

6:21

here they are with a top ten pick. You know the

6:23

value of that. It's fair to say they maximized

6:26

it with what they were able to do to go up and get

6:28

Carter. And you know, it's interesting we talked about

6:30

this before the draft, where would

6:33

be the spot where you felt comfortable

6:36

moving up? When we did the show with Greg I

6:38

kind of gave a little pushback about trading

6:41

serious draft capital, go up to six

6:43

to go get them, just because it's a big

6:45

risk. But you're giving up a fourth round pick,

6:47

move up one spot. I certainly think

6:50

the reward versus the risk. You

6:52

feel good about how you know,

6:54

all the optimism about

6:56

the ways this could turn out. This is the

6:58

draft night. It's all about optimism

7:00

here and what could be. And I think

7:03

that's what the Eagles are focused on with this pick.

7:05

Yeah, I think.

7:05

And then when you factor in the fact, look, you know, Jalen

7:08

Carter for most people a top three, top

7:10

five player in the draft right well,

7:12

for me personally, just the way I viewed

7:15

this class, the Eagles got two of my top

7:17

six players in this draft, with not

7:19

just Jalen Carter, but then adding Nolan Smith,

7:22

his teammate from Georgia as well at number

7:24

thirty. Overall, Ben, you and I have spent

7:26

a lot of time talking about Nolan Smith. I believe

7:28

you and I were together when I watched Nolan Smith

7:31

for the first time. If memory serves, this is a

7:33

really talented player that can do so much

7:35

for defense.

7:37

Yeah, he's in a very exciting prospect. Was a

7:39

little bit slow in his production and impact

7:41

early at Georgia, considering how highly

7:43

talented he was at a high school, a little bit disappointing

7:46

to some Georgia fans and maybe twenty

7:48

nineteen or so, but really turned

7:50

it on the past few seasons and they're back to back

7:52

championship run and he's a really

7:54

exciting player, high energy player. But

7:57

let's try to address for a second. Falling to the

7:59

thirtieth overall, another one a

8:01

great tremendous value pick, but why

8:03

did he fall? There was a lot of

8:05

teams on the board in front of Philadelphia

8:07

there that have certain thresholds

8:09

with their edge players, like New Orleans

8:11

Saints. They don't like the smaller defensive

8:14

ends. So seeing an Olan Smith,

8:16

who played most of his college career at two hundred and thirty

8:18

pounds, thinking for the combine he got up in the

8:21

two forties or so and then just over thirty

8:23

two inch arms. It's not the size profile.

8:25

A lot of four to three teams cove it. But this

8:27

Eagles team with their odd front, their multiple

8:30

fronts, their presence like a Hassan Reddick

8:32

already, this is a very versatile front

8:34

which will take versatile bodies. So

8:37

a player like Nolan Smith the thirtieth

8:39

overall pick, tremendous value. Some teams

8:41

didn't like the undersized edge or the undersized

8:43

outside linebacker, and that's perfectly okay,

8:46

different strokes for different folks. But Nolan

8:48

Smith here in Philadelphia, I think it fits right

8:50

in and a plethora of ways

8:52

to get after the pass with Reddick bringing

8:54

back Brandon Graham. Don't forget Derek Barnett

8:57

is here in twenty twenty three, Josh

8:59

Sweat is here in twenty twenty three. Really

9:01

exciting arsenal defensive ends.

9:03

You know, and Dana, I'm sure a lot of our listeners that

9:05

are Eagles fans when they heard the Eagles are they draft

9:08

Nolan Smith.

9:08

Let's go to the Beast.

9:09

Let's go read what Dan's got written about him. He was

9:11

his fourth edge rusher in this class.

9:13

And I want to bring people's attention to the way

9:15

that you wrapped up the strengths area of

9:18

his game where you talk about what he brings

9:20

off the field, and this is directly from the Beast.

9:22

Relentless playmotor and has unlimited

9:25

energy on and off the field, a joyful

9:27

extrovert by nature, but also holds

9:29

everyone accountable. A quote from his former teammate,

9:31

linebacker Channing Tendall. Nolan is the most

9:33

vocal person in our locker room. He's

9:35

the energy of the defense. And then you go on to

9:37

say he's got the type of work ethic and team first

9:40

mentality that are catnet for coaches,

9:42

and a quote from Nolan Smith, It's not about

9:44

playing for nil deals or to go viral. It's

9:46

about playing for the guy next to you and being

9:48

able to push with him through tough situations.

9:51

He encapsulates everything I think

9:53

that the Eagles organization is looking for

9:55

off the field, that same mentality

9:58

that Jalen Hurts and Devonte Smith,

10:00

you know, Landon Dickerson, Nikobe

10:02

Dean, a lot of these high picks that the Eagles

10:04

have spent these last couple of years. Nolan

10:06

Smith brings that to this locker room

10:08

and to this building.

10:10

The other factor with this is of

10:12

all the people I talked to about Jalen Carter,

10:15

there was not a bigger advocate of

10:18

Jalen Carter than Nolan Smith in terms

10:20

of the person that he is. Nolan

10:22

Smith was in tears talking

10:24

about just talking about he's my

10:27

brother. You know, it's one of my best friends. You

10:29

know, just talking about him as a person and

10:31

to see them be teammates again,

10:33

it's really awesome. And especially when you factor

10:36

in Jordan Davis and na Kobe Dean as well.

10:38

That's this is a really cool wrinkle to this

10:40

whole story. This comes full circle back

10:42

in the summer talking about Nolan Smith and

10:45

it's like, Okay, this guy is really good. It's

10:47

like, okay, what is he? An edge? Rusher is an off ball

10:49

player the way Georgia uses

10:51

him, it's he's more of a read player.

10:54

And so it wasn't just a clean

10:56

evaluation. But if Nolan

10:58

Smith was the pick at number ten, say

11:00

there's no trade, say that Jalen Carter goes nine

11:02

to the Bears. If the Eagles took

11:04

Nolan Smith at ten, I don't think anybody would have beat

11:06

it. An I and said, oh wow, that's

11:08

a sur pride. I mean that was a lot of people

11:10

were projecting that. So to get him twenty

11:13

picks later at thirty, the value

11:15

is outstanding. I mean, I agree with what Ben said

11:17

about him just not being a perfect

11:19

fit for a lot of a lot of these teams.

11:21

When you look at Ed Rusher and the size thresholds

11:24

and what they look for for a lot of teams. He

11:26

be a sam a guy that really a

11:28

lot of teams aren't really using it beyond base

11:30

defenses. And so it's just where

11:32

was the best fit. And when you look at the

11:35

Eagles, Hassan Reddick, Brandon

11:37

Graham, and especially I love the fit for

11:39

him because Nolan

11:41

Smith is a guy that he

11:44

loves to rush down the middle. He loves to go, go,

11:46

go. He doesn't use enough finesse,

11:48

he doesn't use enough setup in what

11:50

he's doing. Guys like Reddick, they

11:53

will help him. Going into that room

11:55

is going to be so beneficial for

11:58

Nolan Smith as he continues to learn the

12:00

sequencing of rushing and getting after

12:02

the quarterback. He's a really good run defender.

12:04

A lot of times with these smaller ed rushers,

12:07

you worry about him in the run game. Not with Nolan

12:09

Smith. He can play on his feet, he can play

12:11

in space. So it's just a tremendous

12:14

value pick at that point. And I mean, I

12:16

have the feeling Howie Roseman's going to better with

12:18

a smile on his face tonight.

12:20

And I think Dan conversely, not only learning from

12:22

those vets on the defensive line, going

12:25

up against Lane Johnson in his speed

12:27

and flying out of his stands, going up against a two

12:29

hundred and fifty pound Jordan Melatta in

12:31

practice. You know he's going to get better just

12:33

playing against these better players

12:36

in this vaunted offensive line. And

12:38

fran I think what you're describing DeVante

12:40

Smith, Jalen Hurts, you know, Nolan Smith.

12:43

These are blue chip players from bluechip programs.

12:46

I mean, these guys are polished, they're media trained,

12:48

they come with very high expectations

12:50

in college. These are semi

12:53

pro type of programs, and when you get players

12:55

from them that you know are seemingly

12:57

NFL ready both on and off the field,

13:00

like a Nolan Smith, I mean, it's exciting.

13:02

And I think we both remembered previous

13:04

times or Eagles fans just wanted somebody

13:07

from those teams and wanted someone from Alabama,

13:09

take anybody from Georgia. Yeah. I

13:11

just think it's a really impressive run by

13:13

this front office, Howie Roseman to go

13:15

out and just to put one word on it,

13:18

go get some winners, you know, to get these

13:20

types of players. Man, there are high expectations

13:23

and they are polished, they're mature, they are

13:25

impressive, young adults.

13:26

Three straight years now, where the Eagles

13:28

spent two of their first three picks on players

13:31

that came from the team that just won the national title. So

13:34

interesting, obviously Alabama two years ago and then

13:36

Georgia each of the last two years. Guys,

13:38

I think that's enough that the three of us can say about

13:40

Nolan Smith and about Jalen Carter. The

13:42

Eagles got significantly better here tonight

13:45

before I cut both of you loose, because both of you guys have had

13:47

long days and nights already and have two more

13:49

coming. The biggest surprise from night one overall,

13:51

Dan, I'll come to you first. Biggest surprise. I mean, there's

13:54

whether it's Jamiir Gibbs going number twelve,

13:56

Devin Winners going number five. You

13:58

know, guys like Joey Porter and Will Levis, Ryan

14:00

Branch falling out of the first round.

14:01

What would be the biggest surprise for you, Dan.

14:03

I'm not with the Texans, and it was all question

14:06

what was going to happen at number two? And there's

14:09

so much smoke about Will Levis.

14:11

Was it going to be a defensive player. At the end of

14:13

the day, they take the quarterback, which

14:15

I think everyone thought was the best route

14:18

to go. They take CJ. Stroud and

14:20

then they come back up at number three and

14:22

get Will Anderson. They make everybody happy.

14:24

You get the cornerstone defender, Timiko

14:27

Ryans as happy you get the quarterback.

14:30

Ownership is happy. I thought Nick Serio

14:32

did a nice job and they paid a price to go up,

14:34

back up and get Will Anderson. But this is a

14:36

team that has their flush with draft picks,

14:39

and they still have as we look

14:41

forward to tomorrow. They still have picks tomorrow. They

14:43

still have a first round pick next year

14:46

from Cleveland, so you know it's

14:48

something that they had the capital to do

14:50

it and to be aggressive. We'll see how it works

14:52

out, but at least applaud them for being aggressive

14:55

going to get two of the

14:57

best players in the strafts with Stroud and will Anderson.

15:00

Man, what do you think?

15:01

I think my biggest takeaway was just like the unpredictability

15:04

and chaos.

15:04

Through the rounds.

15:06

Obviously, Gibbs going to a Lions team that just signed

15:08

David Montgomery has DeAndre Swift

15:11

wasn't the pick you really expected.

15:13

But just adding to that offensive firepower

15:15

and arsenal and planning for the future, and

15:18

then just seeing the defensive player

15:20

pegging order. Did not expect one hundred

15:22

and sixty five Emmanuel Forbes to go

15:24

ahead and Christian Zalez. You

15:26

know, and I'm a fan of Jack Campbell.

15:28

I didn't expect to.

15:29

See him go in the first round there to Detroit. You know

15:31

what, they just brought back alex anzelone. They really

15:33

like Rodrigo, Malcolm Rodriguez that they

15:35

drafted last year. So two players of

15:37

the Lions that I think are really future

15:39

picks are kind of projections. I don't expect

15:42

them to be starters maybe day one and

15:44

twenty twenty three, but planning ahead, which

15:46

I really like what this a Lions team is doing.

15:48

And Brad Holmes really loved the run

15:51

on receivers right there through the early twenties.

15:53

Thought that was really.

15:54

Exciting first time in NFL history. Yep,

15:57

no question.

15:57

And then like we expected that tackles

16:00

are going to go the tackles to tackles.

16:02

Anton Harrison he turned twenty one in January

16:04

two year, starter, has length, good feet

16:07

is, some things to work on, but the NFL doesn't

16:09

typically pass up those types of guys. So just

16:11

nice to see some reaffirmation

16:13

for what you believe as well with some prospects.

16:16

But night one draft in the books

16:19

really exciting. You know, this is we love this day,

16:21

we love. This is like Christmas morning to us. I

16:23

think it's like a Christmas morning again tomorrow with

16:25

two rounds and a lot of values still on the

16:27

board. Here excited to hear what You're a surpriseless.

16:30

Frame, Yeah, I just for me rather

16:32

than necessarily a surprise, just kind of looking around because

16:34

I think you hit on a bunch there. Obviously, Christian Gonzalez

16:36

falling as far as he did, that was a shock. Nolan

16:39

Smith falling as far as he did was a shock to me. But

16:41

then quickly just kind of doing a temperature check on

16:43

the NFC East, the Dallas Cowboys. They take a

16:45

player that fits their profile in Mazzie

16:47

Smith, definitely the kind of guy that they have

16:49

taken in the past, but completely kind of

16:51

like off the radar in terms of the buzz

16:53

and the connection between those two dank correct me from

16:55

our I didn't see like any buzz with Mazzi

16:58

Smith the Dallas, and that they're typically a team that is

17:00

not afraid to kind of tip their hand a little bit, so I thought

17:02

that was certainly interesting.

17:04

They don't draft that type of player in the first round. That's

17:06

the thing is, and that's why they did

17:08

do work on him, and that was well known, right.

17:10

They don't draft those tackles. They don't draft interior,

17:13

non pass rushing defensive tackles

17:15

in the first round. They don't believe in it. This is

17:18

a complete pivot from what they usually

17:20

do, and especially with the Michael Meyer on the

17:22

board, some good linebackers, it was

17:24

definitely a surprise to see them go Massie Smith.

17:26

But it's exactly what they needed.

17:29

Exactly, Dan, I feel like they put their foot down there.

17:31

It's like we tried Jonathan Hankins, he tried to Diggy

17:33

Zua and Neville Gallamar freebe agents.

17:35

That's it. We need a no shade one tech that's

17:38

going to play for us and be a dominant

17:40

presence, maybe a pro bowler. That is Mazzie.

17:42

And now it's debate the value.

17:45

You talked to Emmanuel Forbes going to

17:47

the Washington Commanders. That had been a link that had been

17:49

there in the mock draft space for a

17:51

couple of weeks.

17:52

But Deontay Banks, what do you guys both think

17:54

of Will McDonald's going to the Jets there

17:56

at fifteen.

17:57

Surprise.

17:57

That's a huge surprise, right, that

18:00

was a good one. I did not see that one coming.

18:02

That was the one that really caught

18:04

me off guard where I was like, man, I just I

18:06

am not a fan of that pick, Like I don't

18:09

know, I was not the biggest Will McDonald fan, especially

18:12

as a top fifteen guy. That obviously

18:15

they got wiped out of first round

18:17

their first round grades, and I think they're moving on to the second

18:19

round. And you have to wonder the Steelers

18:22

moving up to number fourteen. Sticking

18:25

true to their their name, they stole Broderick

18:27

Jones right out from under the nose

18:29

of the Jets and so brought her our camp.

18:32

I thought maybe they go a Vila or

18:34

Cyrus Tarns. But if you look at that Jets team,

18:36

that's a murderer's roil roster. That team's

18:38

ready to play like a playoff game tomorrow.

18:41

So it's a bit of a luxury, but a bit of a

18:43

dart throw, right. I think, like our guy said on

18:45

the broadcast, they love going with two

18:47

full defensive line units, so he's certainly

18:50

going to fit into that style and presence but

18:52

I thought securing the guards or maybe getting

18:54

the center of the future. I know they brought back McGovern

18:56

last week, but just securing that offensive

18:59

line for Rogers, the run game, X,

19:01

Y and Z. But the jet spin of a luxury

19:04

pick there. But that's a really loaded roster.

19:06

Yeah, they're cohorts in North Jersey,

19:08

the New York Giants trading up taking Deontay

19:10

Banks the corner out of Maryland is a good scheme fit

19:13

there as well. So guys appreciate

19:15

the time here. Like I said, a busy night for you both.

19:17

We'll be back tomorrow though, to break things down

19:20

for the Eagles after day two, we'll talk through some

19:22

big surprises there as well. Right here on

19:24

the Journey the Draft podcast. All

19:26

right' so great stuff there from Dane and Ben. That's how

19:28

we feel about Jalen Carter and Nolan

19:31

Smith right now now that they are Eagles, But

19:33

how do we feel about them before they were? It

19:35

was even a dream that they could be here in Philadelphia.

19:38

Let's rewind the clock. Let's go back eight

19:40

months.

19:41

The three of us had a very similar conversation

19:43

previewing the SEC it dropped last

19:46

August fifteenth. In twenty twenty

19:48

two previewing the college football season. We

19:50

happen to talk about Jalen Carter. We happen to talk

19:52

about Nolan Smith in that episode,

19:54

and all three of us shared our thoughts on two of the blue

19:57

chip players in the country entering.

19:59

The twenty twenty two.

20:01

So when we do these top senior categories

20:04

top prospect categories, typically we

20:06

talk about a guy, he's all right, this is the top ten quality

20:08

prospect. We've talked about two that potentially

20:10

going the top five. Well, let's make it three guys

20:12

that potentially go in the top five here in the sec. Ben,

20:14

I know you want to talk about Georgia defensive tackle Jalen

20:16

Carter.

20:17

Yeah, Jalen Carter is really special, true junior

20:19

out there at six to two, about three hundred and ten

20:21

pounds and everything I'm about to say

20:24

he does in an elite fashion. He

20:27

is explosive, he's quick footed, he's light

20:29

on his feet, exceptional balanced

20:31

body control, twitch. I know he just said

20:33

a lot of traits there, he does all those

20:36

in an elite degree. He is very

20:38

heavy handed, he's stout. His get

20:40

off at six ' two, three hundred and ten pounds,

20:42

that initial burst the quickness off the ball

20:45

is exceptional. He's an exceptional

20:48

athlete for his size and strong.

20:50

Can make the plays vertically in the backfield, can

20:52

make the plays laterally down the line of scrimmage left

20:54

and right, can make the plays in space, make

20:57

the plays off blocks.

20:59

But how good?

21:00

What are we talking here with Jalen Carter? We know he's

21:02

a first round talent, a front end of the first

21:04

round.

21:05

Who is he?

21:05

Like? Who are you getting? This isn't a

21:07

Chris Jones type? Too tall, too long?

21:10

Not an Aaron Donald, Aaron Donald's undersize

21:12

and quick. You know, a Keem Hicks, Fletcher

21:14

Cox, more of the brute strength types. Jeffrey

21:17

Simmons again a heavy handed power guy.

21:19

I really think this is a combination of like

21:21

a Marcel Darius, who I

21:23

think he's going to test like at six three three

21:25

fifteen four nine three yep, third overall

21:28

pick. Sure, I could see that ballpark as well.

21:30

Or Kenny Clark. Kenny

21:32

Clark has an exceptional combination of quickness

21:35

and leverage, And I just think you're getting

21:37

somebody that's an exceptional athlete

21:40

in a very stout package. So Jalen

21:42

Carter at six two three ten I

21:44

think finding an NFL comparison is a

21:46

little bit tricky, but a Marcel Darius

21:49

type from Alabama several years ago

21:51

was fought very highly by the NFL, being

21:53

the third overall pick, and I could see Jalen Carter

21:55

kind of falling in that same path.

21:57

Came out of a Popka high school in Florida.

22:00

High schoolers weren't sap there you go, so

22:02

you want to make another comparison there in terms of from

22:04

a positional standpoint to me was one of the things

22:06

that stands out to me about Carter. You know, last year

22:09

Georgia, they had all those linemen that came out, obviously

22:11

Jordan Davis, Devontai.

22:12

Why at both guys go in the first round.

22:14

Well, both of those guys they you know, they were kind of ridiculed

22:16

from like the from an analytics standpoint because

22:19

their win rates weren't super high.

22:20

Jalen Carter's win rates through the roof

22:22

in terms of.

22:23

His ability to win off the ball, and that stands

22:25

out, Dane, when you watch this guy on tape.

22:27

The body control is really phenomenal

22:29

for a guy that's over three hundred pounds,

22:31

and it's nuts that Georgia set a record

22:34

last year in last year's draft with the five

22:36

defenders in the first round, and

22:39

the best guy out of them all is

22:41

still in Athens, number eighty eight, Jalen Carter.

22:43

So there's so much alike about the player. I

22:46

was surprised a little bit that talking

22:48

with the scouts and some other guys

22:50

around the league this summer about Will

22:52

Anderson, it wasn't a consensus

22:54

that Will Anderson was the best player. There is

22:57

several around the league that believe

22:59

Jalen Carter. If the draft is today, Jalen

23:01

Carter could be the number one overall or the

23:03

first non quarterback drafted ahead

23:05

of Anderson. That's how highly that a

23:07

lot of people think of Carter.

23:10

All right, well, let's go to the defensive side of the football.

23:12

Top senior on defense in the SEC,

23:14

Dan, you're leading us off with a player that I absolutely

23:17

love on tape and that's Georgia pass rusher

23:19

Nolan Smith.

23:20

Yeah, I appreciate you giving me the first pick here. Georgia

23:24

linebacker and Nolan Smith. The guy's a stud

23:26

rush the passer. He can make stops versus a run.

23:29

He's smart, he's twitched up. I

23:31

think my favorite thing about him is the energy that

23:33

he brings every day on and off the field.

23:35

Talking to scouts and Georgia players

23:37

last year, they all said Smith

23:40

was the vocal leader of that defense. A little

23:42

bit of a tweener. That'll hurt him a little bit with

23:44

some teams, but you know, I

23:47

think that he's too good that it's

23:49

not going to necessarily drop him

23:51

when we talk about draft grades and projections.

23:54

As a senior, I want to see him become a

23:56

little more nuanced with his rush plan, make

23:58

sure he's maximizing those gifts that he

24:00

has. And he's probably what two

24:02

thirty two thirty five at his

24:04

best, and so he loves to go at

24:07

blockers with power. But he's

24:09

not the biggest guy, and so he needs to learn to work

24:11

off of that and introduce different things. But I

24:13

think this guy's got a universal approval rating.

24:16

Even if you don't love him, you really like him,

24:18

and so he's just going to be a really good pro.

24:20

I mean, that's the thing when you talk about from a size

24:22

standpoint, like he doesn't have like that amount

24:24

of mass to be able to just push people around. I

24:27

think people look at the look at it from how he's listed

24:29

on the roster page and like, oh, he's.

24:30

Not powerful like he he is so powerful.

24:33

He's athletic.

24:33

You talk about the motor, you talk about the toughness, run

24:36

game, pass game, move backwards. He's played

24:38

over two hundred snaps on special teams already

24:41

going into his senior year.

24:42

Dude, I love Nolan Smith. Honestly. It's

24:44

very similar to what we were talking about with Bryce.

24:46

Young, Like get get past the size with

24:48

Nolan Smith, and it's a really good

24:50

football player bench.

24:51

And I'm really happy he's kind of come out the other side

24:53

because the Georgia community was

24:56

all over this cave when he first got there. He

24:58

was the number one recruit at a high school, ahead

25:00

of Cavon Thibodeau, ahead of Derek Stingley

25:02

in twos the nineteen and didn't really produce

25:05

right away high expectations. Fans

25:07

were burying this kid anytime

25:09

I went to talk about him on Twitter and two as the nineteen

25:11

or twenty twenty, just to hype him up. Georgia

25:14

fans just breathing down my next saying this kid has

25:16

not done a thing. This is a really good kid,

25:19

smart kid, well spoken, good smile,

25:22

CEO type and now he's put it together

25:24

on the field off of a national championship

25:26

season. I'm really happy for this kid to come

25:28

through the other side. I think he's a top fifty

25:30

player.

25:30

All day long and act a lot.

25:32

Of production to be had now in that Georgia defense.

25:34

It's going to be a race of the quarterback between him and Jail

25:37

and Carter, and I'm sure a couple five stars will

25:39

learn about next year.

25:40

Yeah, a top fifty easy, and I think you're

25:42

looking like arrow pointing up on what that could be a

25:44

few months from now. All right,

25:47

So bring it back now to April of twenty twenty

25:49

three. Yeah, great to kind of go back

25:51

and just hear our thoughts there on Jalen Carter and

25:53

Nolan Smith, two players that for good reason we've

25:55

been very very high on on this podcast

25:57

now for almost a year. I think when you

26:00

go back and just kind of hear our raw thoughts on these players,

26:02

and it's not just these two, it'll be other players

26:04

here throughout the course of the weekend, just gives you a

26:06

sense this is how we feel about these guys,

26:09

not just now that they're here in Philadelphia, but throughout

26:11

the course of the process. Appreciate

26:13

Ben and Dane's time. We're going to catch up with them tomorrow

26:16

here on the Journey of the Draft Podcast.

26:17

Make sure you stay tuned, stay subscribed, we'll be back.

26:19

Continue to break down not just this Eagles draft

26:21

class, but the draft as a whole right here on the

26:23

Journey the Draft Podcast