NFL mock draft: 3 teams Georgia’s Nolan Smith could star for on the edge

Georgia EDGE Nolan Smith wowed at the NFL Combine on Thursday and we look at NFL mock draft fits for the Bulldogs pass-rusher. 

Who would’ve thought that the Georgia Bulldogs coming off of back-to-back national championship wins would have more freaks to send to the NFL Draft? There are several in the 2023 NFL Draft class but, after Thursday’s workouts at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, everyone has edge rusher Nolan Smith on the brain.

Smith went out, despite still recovering from a torn pectoral muscle suffered midway through Georgia’s season, and just tore up the athletic testing. He led all defensive ends with a 41.5-inch vertical jump — the only prospect to clear 40 inches — the third-best broad jump at 10-foot-8 at the position, and then gave the grand finale with a 4.39-second 40-yard dash with a 1.52-second 10-yard split.

That time was faster than the 4.44 seconds unofficially announced and the 10-yard split is the fastest time by an edge rusher in the history of the NFL Combine. All of this at 6-foot-2, 238 pounds.

Smith is a complete monster athletically and his potential is going to make him a possible first-round pick. But which teams should draft him? These three come to mind quickly as great fits for the Georgia star.

NFL mock draft: Best Nolan Smith fit No. 3 – Pittsburgh Steelers

When you think about the great edge rushers that the Pittsburgh Steelers have had over the years, they’ve had their best success when it comes to highly twitched-up athletes who have great burst and bend that they can get after opposing quarterbacks with.

T.J. Watt obviously fits that bill but we’ve also seen it with the emergence of Alex Highsmith over the past couple of seasons. Highsmith was exceptionally raw coming out of college but the athletic traits were there and we’ve seen Mike Tomlin and the Steelers coaching staff mold him into a highly effective player.

With that said, Pittsburgh needs to keep the mill turning when it comes to their edge rushers, even if they plan to lock up Highsmith and already have Watt on the books for the long haul. That’s where Smith could come in.

Nolan Smith is far more developed as a player than Highsmith but still fits that all-potential type of mold overall. Especially if the Steelers want to trade back in the first round, taking the Georgia product would make a ton of sense for Pittsburgh to keep their defense a strength.

NFL mock draft: Best Nolan Smith fit No. 2 – Minnesota Vikings

If you just look at the roster right now at the start of March, it doesn’t make a lot of sense why the Minnesota Vikings would be interested in an edge rusher. They already have a ton of money committed to the position right now with Za’Darius Smith and Danielle Hunter on the team. However, how long both of those players are on the team is something that’s definitely in question.

Smith has been mentioned heavily early in the offseason as a potential cap casualty as the Vikings try to save some money. Meanwhile, Hunter’s lack of availability combined with a dip in performance have fans wondering if he’s long for Minnesota as well. That certainly would create a need if one or both of those players are gone.

Brian Flores is the new defensive coordinator in Minnesota and he has enjoyed a ton of success with guys who might not fit the mold of a traditional edge rusher but have tools to simply get after the quarterback. With Nolan Smith’s smaller frame, he would qualify as one of those types of players.

The Vikings have the 23rd overall pick in the draft, which feels like the right type of range to look at the Georgia star, especially as he comes off of the pectoral injury. He could be a newfound force on the edge, especially as he starts to develop technically and even more so with his frame at the NFL level.

NFL mock draft: Best Nolan Smith fit No. 1 – Atlanta Falcons

It feels like every year there is at least one Georgia Bulldog who we can’t help but think that the Atlanta Falcons should draft them to keep the young prospect in state. However, there is absolutely no reason that Nolan Smith shouldn’t be heavily on the radar for the Dirty Birds whenever they get on the clock.

Edge rusher has seemingly been a need for the Falcons for every year in the past decade. Outside of the tremendous outlier season for Vic Beasley where he was at the top of the NFL in sacks, this is a franchise and defense that has been completely devoid of players who have the juice to consistently affect games as pass-rushers. That can change with this pick, though.

Again, Smith is going to require some development. He needs a wider arsenal of pass-rush moves and needs to more consistently convert his elite burst and explosiveness into power at the point of attack. With that said, though, he has a nice baseline as a well-versed edge defender that is willing and capable against the run in addition to being a nice pass-rusher.

Now the big question for the Falcons would be if he’s worth it at No. 6. That might be a bit rich, but if the team were to trade back or if the Georgia star were to fall to them at the top of the second round (or, hell, if they could trade into the back-end of the first round), then he would be a player that fits exactly what they’ve been looking for on the edge with his game-changing potential.