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

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.