PHILADELPHIA — Eagles linebacker/edge rusher Nolan Smith, a first-round pick in 2023, played in 17 games as a rookie, but much of his time was on special teams or in a limited rotation on defense. And he heard the grumblings from fans.
Last year was different. He began to break out. He played in 16 games on defense and ended up starting in 10. He finished with 42 total tackles, 6½ sacks, 11 QB hits, a forced fumble and a pair of pass deflections.
Now, he’s looking to get to the next level in defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s system.
“The next step in my game is, personally, just to be that pass rusher,” Smith said during OTAs this week. “Be that pass rusher, keep rushing, but also be the ultimate player.
“I don’t think Coach Vic knows, but, man, he coached some of my favorite guys in the world. Watching Von Miller in (Fangio’s) defense made me want to be the person I am today. Relentless. Like, who is that guy? What does he do during the offseason? Why is he always at the ball?
“Coach Vic, watching him and how he molded those guys, it’s nothing for me to listen to him. To be coachable? Are you crazy?”
Miller is a future Hall of Famer who won two Super Bowls (with Denver and the Los Angeles Rams). He has been selected for eight Pro Bowls and was named to the NFL’s 2010s All-Decade Team, among many other accolades.
But Smith cites retired Eagles edge rusher Brandon Graham, who won two Super Bowls here, as another enormous influence on him — a mentor, in fact. He said he’s not trying to “replace” Graham, but he talks with him every day.
“(My rookie year) was just a learning year, and truly, a testament to Brandon Gaham. You’re about to make me cry up here, just because BG gave me so much, from just the outside world putting so much pressure on me: ‘You’re a first-round pick. You need to do this, you need to do that.’ And BG just told me, ‘Be you.’ To this point, that’s what I’ve got on my mirror with my goals; ‘Be you.’
“Nobody can make you be anything other than yourself. And as long as you work and put in that dedication and that effort every day– and that’s why I work so hard, just because I just want to be me. And it’s not for me, it’s for B. It’s for B, when he was doubted when he first got here and so was I. He just kept pushing me and he leaned into me and, as we say in the South, he just poured in my glass just a little bit more. He just kept pouring in my glass, and he believed in me. And I tell him, I’m not going to stop. My first sack dance, I’ve already got it in my head.
“Be you. Be you and take the seatbelt off, always.”
Graham suffered a torn triceps in late November but returned in time for Super Bowl LIX. Ironically, Smith tore his triceps in the Super Bowl and has been recovering from the surgery. He said his rehab is going well, and he expects to be “striking” next week and elevating his play.
“I talked to Coach Vic, and he always told me, ‘Play the game the right way,’ and I always tell myself that: ‘Play the game the right way,’ because I’ve got to crush the run in order to rush the passer. So, when you play the game the right way, don’t chase sacks and don’t do none of that — be a football player, truly — everything else will take care of itself.
“I know everybody’s excited for the rings and all of that. (Georgia) Coach (Kirby) Smart used to say, ‘Last year is last year. Time to turn the page.’ Everybody’s excited for the rings; I’ve been turning the page, especially after the parade. I got back to doing what I was doing because I knew I had to rehab and that I’ve got to be stronger. I said last year, I want to be bulletproof, and that’s what I got after every year. Trying to be bulletproof, build my armor going into this year.”
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Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter — a game disrupter who has 75 tackles, 10½ sacks and four forced fumbles in his first two years in the league, earning a Pro Bowl selection and Second Team All-Pro honors last season — heaped praise on the fellow defensive tackle Ty Robinson, the Eagles’ fourth-round pick out of Nebraska in April’s draft.
“You seen him yet?” Carter said after an OTA practice session. “That boy fire, I ain’t even gonna lie. He’s moving good. He’s a big boy. He’s here and he’s working. I think he’s going to have a big impact this season.”
Robinson, who’s 6-foot-6, 310 pounds, started 47 games with the Huskers and was a leader in the locker room. Last season, he had 37 tackles, including 12½ for loss, seven sacks, 25 pressures, and seven pass deflections. He also blocked a field goal and recorded a safety.
He was a centerpiece for a defense that finished 17th nationally in scoring and eighth against the run. At the combine, Robinson ran the fastest 40 time (4.83) of any defensive lineman. His broad jump (9 feet, 11 inches) was second best, and his 33½-inch vertical was fourth.
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NOTES: The Eagles signed undrafted rookie receiver Ife Adeyi on Thursday. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Adeyi, who played for Sam Houston State, participated in the Eagles’ rookie camp last month. In his college career, he had the seventh most receptions (164), receiving yards (2,312) and receiving touchdowns (19) in school history. He also had 306 rushing yards and four rushing TDs, and often served as a punt returner. … A pair of former Eagles who are now head coaches at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), will square off at Lincoln Financial Field. DeSean Jackson’s Delaware State Hornets will take on Michael Vick’s Norfolk State Spartans on Thursday, Oct. 30. Tickets go on sale June 17 at 10 a.m.
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Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc.
Source: Berkshire mont
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