Eagles' Nolan Smith Embracing Rookie Learning Curve, Reveals 'Simple' Goal
PHILADELPHIA – Nolan Smith didn’t get drafted and bring a know-it-all attitude with him, though it would have been easy to do after being the second of two first-round draft picks of the Philadelphia Eagles last spring and after helping the University of Georgia win back-to-back national titles.
It was quite the contrary.
“They (the veterans) came up to me and I told them I don’t know anything, I’m here to learn,” said Smith, the outside linebacker/edge rusher following Sunday’s training camp practice. “They said we’re here to give you whatever.”
That response allayed one of Smith’s greatest fears about arriving in the NFL - that the veterans wouldn’t be willing to help him.
Again, it was quite the contrary.
“We have great vets on our team,” Smith said. “That was one thing I was afraid about the NFL, they say certain guys don’t try to help people, but we don’t have that here at the Eagles. It’s everybody really pulling in the same direction.”
Smith singled out several on the defensive line, from veterans Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham to Derek Barnett and Haason Reddick.
“I’d say the guys that we have here on the D-line, it’s not even talent, it’s knowledge,” Smith said. “It’s something you can’t buy…In college I was the old head, now I realize I don’t know s***. I’m just here to work and learn.”
Smith has been a willing learner while putting letting his skill set, which includes plenty of speed as evidenced by the first few days of camp and the 4.39 40-yard dash he ran at the NFL Scouting Combine, to use.
On Sunday, he caught up to quarterback Jalen Hurts, who ran a designed play up the middle and ran stride for stride with him down the field.
“You obviously see his talent with athleticism and how hard he plays," said coach Nick Sirianni. "It’s very noticeable of not only his get-off of how he gets off the football but also how he retraces to get to the football, whether that’s running down a play that’s gotten behind him or what not, you see how hard he plays on a play-to-play basis.”
Smith has gotten several reps with the first team while Reddick continues to work his way through groin tightness that has limited his participation in camp so far, and he looks very much like he belongs.
He has made some nice plays, but he’s also been stonewalled a few times by right tackle Lane Johnson, as you would expect from one of the game’s top right tackles.
“Lane is amazing, and I’m learning more about myself,” Smith said. “He’s teaching me stuff day by day. Even after he beat me on a couple of reps, he still comes over to me and tells me how I can get better and what things I could do different.
“Our vets are showing us nothing but love because the ultimate goal is to help us win. That’s what Lane is teaching me. I didn’t expect that. The first couple of reps when he beat me (he) came up after the rep and said try this, this, this, and that, and it will help. I’m happy about that.”
Unlike teammate Jalen Carter, drafted ninth overall in April, Smith won’t come out and make the kind of proclamation Carter did when he said he wanted to be the defensive rookie of the year.
Asked if he had any such lofty predictions, Smith simply said: “To help my team. That’s my goal, every day and to learn more, soak in all that BG knowledge.
"BG and DB (Derek Barnett) and those guys in my room, (Josh) Sweat, Haason, take as much as they give me so I can elevate myself every day.”
That process is well underway.
Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.
Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.
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