Eagles Vet Says 'Confidence' is Key to Emerging Edge Rusher

The Eagles really need second-year edge rusher Nolan Smith to step forward in the 2024 season.

Jan 15, 2024; Tampa, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham (55) and / Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports

PHILADELPHIA - The parallels are obvious, albeit over a decade apart.

The Eagles’ Brandon Graham, set to enter his 15th and final NFL season, was once the organization’s first-round pick in 2010 at No. 13 overall. 

Now 36, and secure as a franchise great who has played in more games than any other Eagles player, Graham wasn’t always that kind of staple. As late as the 2014 season, BG believed he was going to be cut by then-coach Chip Kelly, who had an affinity for an edge rusher by the name of Travis Long, a player whose bad luck in the form of consecutive ACL tears kept the door open for Graham.

Graham not only walked through that door but kicked it in en route to becoming one of the better two-way defensive ends in the NFL over the past decade, graded by Pro Football Focus as a top-10 player at his position eight different times. 

Fellow edge defender Nolan Smith’s disappointing rookie season in 2023 as the 30th overall pick was not lost on Graham and the veteran is using his own story to make sure the 23-year-old Georgia product doesn’t allow the quick assessments of outsiders to define a young player with time to grow into his potential.

“I told him to keep his head down, make sure that he kept knowing what to do, and learn the playbook as best as he could,” Graham said on Wednesday at the NovaCare Complex. “Be the fast, athletic version of himself on the field.”

Confidence is key and Graham sets the tone for the organization as an effusive, almost other-worldly bundle of optimism who serves as the Eagles’ energy.

Staring center Cam Jurgens mentioned that even though Graham’s lift is scheduled for later in the morning he’s always there early trying to pump up the offense during the opening days of offseason work.

Smith needs his own positive reinforcement after a rookie season in which he was on the field for only 188 snaps over 17 games, an average of 11 per game, with 13 tackles, one sack, and three quarterback hits while fighting through a troublesome shoulder.

A team source confirmed that Smith had a procedure done on the shoulder in the offseason and that plus a year in an NFL weight room should help the 238-pound talent be better-equipped for his sophomore season.

GM Howie Roseman is eager to see some returns on his investment.

“In retrospect, just seeing him certainly in the playoff game [against Tamp Bay], one of the guys who played well in the playoff game, maybe giving him a little bit more time during the year and experience, we talked about that,” Roseman said at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis earlier this year. “He's got all the right tools in his body. He's got the right mentality. 

“... at the same time, he's got to go out and show it.”

On his way out the door as a player, Graham is intent on paying his experience forward to make sure Smith rebounds to have his own lengthy career.

“You can see his confidence growing, knowing there is more on him this year,” Graham said. 

The trade of a proven pass rusher in Haason Reddick for a conditional 2026 third-round pick hasn’t gone over well in many quarters around Philadelphia to the point Roseman got defensive at his pre-draft media availability.

“I think you are asking a question in a vacuum without all the other factors,” Roseman bandied back against a reporter who boiled the Reddick decision down to the draft pick. “So, if we want to talk about all the factors that go into building the team and to the resources that we put into each position, we can do that.

“But I don’t think the question is really fair and accurately describes the transaction.”

What the frustrated Roseman was trying to highlight was that the Reddick deal was also influenced by the addition of Bryce Huff and the projected increased playing time for Smith, as well as age, finances, shelf life, and the upside and shelf life of all involved.

“You bring in Huff, and you have Sweaty [defensive end Josh Sweat], but then you have to see who’s right behind that,” Graham said, alluding to Smith. “It’s a competition, so we have some really good players to compete every day and to keep each other on our toes. 

“That’s all you want in the room. You want people to just keep elevating and keep getting better.”

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