Nolan Smith

Georgia EDGE

Games Watched: Oregon, Missouri, Florida

Summary: Nolan Smith can play as both a 4-3 DE and a 3-4 OLB. He is on the smaller side for edge rushers, but that allows him to be explosive off the snap and gives him phenomenal movement skills. He has great flexibility to turn the corner and get to the quarterback. Despite his size he is great in the run game because he is committed to winning the leverage battle, and he uses his powerful hands to discard blocks. He has room to grow rushing the passer as he doesn’t have a refined set of counters he uses, and he often rushes without a plan. In college, he won by bull rushing smaller tackles but he doesn’t have the strength to do that to NFL tackles.

Pros

  • Incredibly explosive off of the snap
  • Turns the corner and flattens the edge well
  • Plays with great leverage and effort to win at the point of the attack despite his size
  • Powerful hands that allow him deconstruct blocks and disengage
  • Good when asked to drop into coverage

Cons

  • Pass rushing skillset lacks counters to reliably win
  • Doesn’t have the raw strength to bullrush stronger offensive tackles
  • Below average contact balance allows slight contact to majorly impact his rush

Grade: Nolan Smith gets a late 1st round grade. He’s good in the run game with traits to be a great pass rusher, but he still needs to be refined as a player.