There were a few winners on Day 1 of the 2023 NFL Draft, but no team was as successful as the Philadelphia Eagles. General manager Howie Roseman has done an excellent job of navigating the draft board in recent years and did it once again last week.
The Eagles had two selections in the first round, essentially a roster-building cheat code for a team coming off of a Super Bowl appearance just a few months ago. They assured that they will be in contention for more trips in the coming years with their first-round picks this year.
Philadelphia suffered a major loss in free agency with Javon Hargrave signing a massive deal with the San Francisco 49ers. 2022 first-round pick Jordan Davis will assuredly have a larger role, but now he will be teaming up with his former Georgia teammate, Jalen Carter.
Carter was regarded as the best prospect in this year’s draft class by many. The Eagles didn’t take any chances of the Chicago Bears or another team scooping him up at No. 9, so they sent the No. 10 pick and a fourth-rounder to Chicago to move up one spot.
That move led to the Eagles having the best value pick in Round 1 according to Jordan Reid of ESPN. It is hard to argue against that selection, but Matthew Miller came up with another selection.
Miller believes the best value remains in Philadelphia, but it was their 30th pick, linebacker Nolan Smith. The Eagles are recreating the Bulldogs’ defense, which was arguably the best in college football history as Smith is one of five former Georgia starters that has been drafted by Philadelphia in the last two years.
Nabbing Smith near the end of the first round was a steal in Miller’s eyes, as Smith was ranked inside the top-15 almost unanimously. His player comp is Haason Reddick, who he will now be teaming up with coming off the edge.
Roseman put on a masterclass in the first round, getting some good luck with how the board fell as well. The Eagles not only improved their outlook for 2023 but long-term with high-upside youngsters eventually being ready to take over for Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox, who are 35 and 32 years old.
