PHILADELPHIA − The Eagles could hardly believe their good fortune when they picked not just one Georgia defensive lineman, but two in the first round of the NFL draft Thursday night.
The Eagles traded up one spot to No. 9 to select Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter. They gave the Bears a fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft. Then at No. 30, the Eagles selected edge rusher Nolan Smith, whom many draft analysts expected would be a candidate for the Eagles at No. 10.
So you’ll have to forgive the Eagles if they’re feeling like Georgia North. Last spring, the Eagles took two more Georgia players in first-round pick Jordan Davis, a defensive tackle, and third-round pick Nakobe Dean, a linebacker.
Georgia, of course, has won the last two FBS national championships, and now the Eagles have four key defensive players from those teams.
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said teams tried to get the Eagles to trade that No. 30 pick and move back into the second round.
“You see guys sitting up there like Nolan … he’s got unbelievable traits in his body, a leader, a winner,” Roseman said. “We’re fielding calls at the time. I think Coach (Nick Sirianni) and I just looked at each other and said, ‘This is the guy.’ We didn’t want to get too cute. We’re excited to have him.”
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Roseman feels the same way about Carter, considered the top overall talent in the draft.
But Carter’s selection came with controversy stemming from a fatal car accident involving another car that led to the deaths of a teammate and a football staffer. Carter pleaded no contest to reckless driving and racing from that January night. Carter was fined, placed on probation, ordered to do community service and complete a defensive-driving course.
Carter said the Eagles didn’t ask him much about the accident. Instead, they were interested in his character and work ethic. There were also reports of a poor Pro Day, and Carter admitted that he wasn’t in top condition for it as he couldn’t complete a few drills due to exhaustion.
“They really didn’t ask much about the accident that happened,” Carter said. “It was pretty much getting to know me and the love of the game that I have for football, just getting to know my personality and stuff like that.”
That led to a testy exchange between Roseman and a reporter, who said Carter didn’t seem to take accountability on the videoconference with reporters.
“I don’t think that’s fair,” Roseman said. “What do you want him to talk about an active investigation at that time? At the end of the day, he just got drafted, and you’re putting him on the spot on that … You’re being overly critical of a kid who’s trying to enjoy the best night of his life.
“I think for us, we take that part (the tragedy) seriously … We’re going to wrap our arms around him and do the best that we can to help him. That was a tragic night. We’re sorry for the loss to those families, and we’re not trying to downplay that situation.”
Roseman attributed the poor Pro Day to the trauma and stress from the accident.
“He didn’t have the spring that he wanted to have, obviously starting with that event,” Roseman said. “I think the event, and the issues surrounding him, I think they derailed him this spring. I think the first thing he said to us was, ‘You tell me what I need to do.’
“I think he’s a proud guy, and he wants to show people what kind of player he is, and what kind of person he is. But he’s got to do that with his actions.”
Roseman is counting on the Eagles’ environment to help Carter do that. Veterans like center Jason Kelce, who was at the draft site in Kansas City, hugged Carter, and chugged a beer to show his approval. Carter said Kelce told him that Kelce “can’t wait for one-on-ones,” in training camp.
Carter will have to be in top shape for that because the veterans certainly won’t take it easy on him.
The same is true of Smith, who didn’t play in the national championship game last season as he suffered a pectoral muscle injury in early November and missed the rest of the season.
Smith, however, tested at the NFL Combine and ran a 4.39 in the 40-yard dash. He was the first defensive lineman/edge rusher to run a sub-4.4 at the Combine. Smith had 3 sacks last season and 4.5 the season before.
Roseman said Smith is fully healed from the injury.
The two Georgia picks capped a night in which the Eagles kicked things off by making a trade minutes before the draft started. That resulted from a tampering charge against the Arizona Cardinals when they hired ex-Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon to be their head coach just days after the Super Bowl.
The Cardinals self-reported that they made contact with Gannon by phone after the NFC Championship game, a dead period for coaching interviews for those still involved in the playoffs.
The two teams settled by swapping third-round picks with the Eagles moving up from No. 94 to No. 66. The Eagles also gave the Cardinals a fifth-round pick in 2024.
In all, the Eagles have so far given up two of their picks in 2024. They were expected to have as many as 12 because of comp picks from losing free agents this spring.
But they got two more star defensive players from Georgia. Sirianni got a sense of their talent during their spring visits to the NovaCare Complex in a game of H-O-R-S-E in basketball that Sirianni played against each of them.
Sirianni said he beat Carter, but lost to Smith.
But then Sirianni described one shot that Carter made: “He did a windmill dunk without taking a step, so I was pretty impressed with that.”
Then it was Sirianni’s turn. He just took the letter.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
