Nolan Smith, Calijah Kancey are Worth Watching for Eagles
There’s only one thing better for the Eagles than having Haason Reddick. And that’s having two Haason Reddicks.
That could very well be what Georgia pass rusher Nolan Smith becomes in the NFL. Perhaps he even gets that chance in Philadelphia.
Smith has been compared to Reddick in some areas, including NFL draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah.
They are comparable in size, with Smith at 6-2, 238; Reddick at 6-1, 235.
Jeremiah has Smith as the 20th-best prospect in the draft. Reddick was taken 13th overall in 2017.
Reddick was the man at Temple, so his numbers in college are slightly better. He had 17.5 sacks in four seasons, including 9.5 in his final year with the Owls, with 47 tackles for loss, and one interception.
Smith didn’t have to be the man on a Bulldogs team loaded with talent, but he still ended with 12.5 sacks in four seasons, including three last year, 20 tackles for loss, and one interception.
Smith had a strong day at the NFL Scouting Combine on Thursday.
He ran a 4.39 in the 40 and his 41.5-inch vertical jump made him the heaviest player at the combine to have a plus-40 vertical and run a sub-4.4.
Seahawks WR DK Metcalf had previously been the best at being the heaviest in those two events while RB Breece Hall, now with the Jets, was second until Smith.
Smith wasn’t the only one to open eyes on Thursday.
Pitt defensive tackle Calijah Kancey did as well.
The Eagles are expected to be in the market on the defensive side of the ball with several players likely to leave in free agency, including very possibly defensive tackles Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave.
Kancey, who reminds some of Rams star Aaron Donald, who also attended Pitt and was knocked for being too small at 6-1, 280.
Kancey checked in at 6-1, 280, but ran a 4.67 in the 40, which was the fastest time by a defensive tackle since 2003 and bested Donald’s 2014 time of 4.68.
"I've definitely watched tape on him,” said Kancey before running his 40. “I watch tape on a lot of guys who are around my height and weight. I've watched a few guys of that caliber. But (Donald) is a great guy and a great mentor. I haven't spoken with him recently though."
Asked who some players were other than Donald that he watches on film, he mentioned Hargrave, a former Pittsburgh Steeler, as one, as well as Grady Jarrett and Quinnen Williams.
“Those types of guys, they paved the way for smaller defensive tackles and showed we could play at the next level,” said Kancey. “Lots of quickness, speed, technique, block shedding and aggressiveness.”
When asked what he tells people who think he’s too small to play DT in the NFL, he said: "I play to prove myself right. I don't play to prove anyone else wrong. I just prove myself right."
As for Reddick, who posted 19.5 sacks in 20 games in his first season with the Eagles, he is signed for two more years. GM Howie Roseman likes to draft players who can learn from the best.
He did it last year with center/guard Cam Jurgens, who spent a redshirt year learning from Jason Kelce and Isaac Seumalo.
He did it with Jordan Mailata and Andre Dillard, both of whom still had Jason Peters around to soak up his professionalism.
And he did it in 2018 with Dallas Goedert when Zach Ertz was still in the building.
Remember, too, that Smith plays at Georgia, a school that produced two Eagles draft picks last year in Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean.
He and Kancey are certainly two to keep an eye on as the days lead up to the start of the draft on April 27.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglestoday.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
