Nolan Smith

[Aerolithe_Lion]

Statistically a top 4 edge player to come out of the draft the last 4 years

It’s Will Anderson, it’s Chase Young, it’s Micah, and it’s him

 

[cnuball21]

Awe

Statistically a top 4 edge player to come out of the draft the last 4 years

It’s Will Anderson, it’s Chase Young, it’s Micah, and it’s him

Awesome post.

2 of my favorites in McDonald and Hall also have great pressure rates…similar to Kayvon from last year.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

His stats are a volume thing. Ex - Will Anderson had 350+ more snaps in Smiths last full healthy season. He also had a 25 % pass rush run rate which is absurd. It’s just how UGA operates.

I have zero concerns about his production. If you have concerns around how he fits in? That’s fair. I see him playing WILL in base and rushing in nickel / dime. Aka Barrs role from last year + pass rush duties.

Different prospect - but with someone this dynamic you just freaking figure it out. It’s like passing on Watt

Statistically a top 4 edge player to come out of the draft the last 4 years

It’s Will Anderson, it’s Chase Young, it’s Micah, and it’s him

Greg makes a total overstatement regarding pressure being more important than sacks. A sack is registered negative outcome for an offense on a given snap. “Pressure” does not always result in a negative play for the offense.

The general concept of pressure rate/win rate metric is understood though and does have relevance, but again, he’s overstating it.

What I do like about Smith is that he’s a complete player in terms of playing the run, setting the edge, and is intelligent (not just a guy mindlessly screaming off the edge). What I don’t like about him is that he doesn’t have deep arsenal of pass rush moves/technique, though that presumably can be developed.

 

[Outlaw Heroes]

Statistically a top 4 edge player to come out of the draft the last 4 years

It’s Will Anderson, it’s Chase Young, it’s Micah, and it’s him

There's one guy lapping the field. It's Micah. Then there's the next tier.

 

[cnuball21]

Greg makes a total overstatement regarding pressure being more important than sacks. A sack is registered negative outcome for an offense on a given snap. “Pressure” does not always result in a negative play for the offense.

The general concept of pressure rate/win rate metric is understood though and does have relevance, but again, he’s overstating it.

What I do like about Smith is that he’s a complete player in terms of playing the run, setting the edge, and is intelligent (not just a guy mindlessly screaming off the edge). What I don’t like about him is that he doesn’t have deep arsenal of pass rush moves/technique, though that presumably can be developed.

Well yea I’d agree sacks are always a positive play and win. That being said sacks can sometimes occur with a player not even winning a rep. Someone can miss a block, another player can cause the pressure that leads to the sack etc…

So everything should be evaluated as a whole. It’s just an incredibly terrible evaluation when our fans say “player X sucks because he only had X amount of sacks.” It’s so easy to get this data now.

If player A has a lot of pressures, a high win rate and 7 sacks I’ll take him 10 times out of 10 over player B who has a lower number of pressures, a low win rate and 10 sacks.

 

[xwalker]

Statistically a top 4 edge player to come out of the draft the last 4 years

It’s Will Anderson, it’s Chase Young, it’s Micah, and it’s him

Chase Young...

 

[Risen Star]

Yeah the concept that pressure is more important than sacks is laughable.

You can beat me for a touchdown if I just get pressure on the play. You can't if I sack you.

I don't pay much mind to these win rate stat geeks.

 

[cnuball21]

Agree with everyone that pressures aren’t more important than sacks. But they should be strongly considered in the evaluation process along with things like win rate and pressure percentage.

PFF actually did a cool study a few years ago around the correlation between college sacks vs grade / pressures and the hit rate was about 20% higher for grade / pressures.

 

[AsthmaField]

Smith is tailor made to be drafted by Howie. He’s on a big-SEC school kick with his early pics… plus he loves the positive grades he gets for combine warriors (see Davis last year). And with Nolan expected to be there at pick 10, Philly fans are already defending Smith because they can see the writing on the wall.

To be fair though, I love Smith and would defend him too.

Unfortunately, Smith will be a good first round pick for Philly… unlike Davis last year, who simply wasn’t worth that pick.

 

[Pass2Run]

Smith has some serious power for a guy his size. Good speed too. Have liked him since I first started armchair-scoping players for this draft.

How do you guys feel about Felix Anudike-Uzomah?

 

[Pass2Run]

And there is a better chance for McDonald to be there at 26…. I’d be very happy with that pick.

That's what I was saying last year, too. But I think it's possible he gets better in time.

The other player who I think won't turn out as good as some hoped is Nakobe Dean...

 

[cnuball21]

Smith is tailor made to be drafted by Howie. He’s on a big-SEC school kick with his early pics… plus he loves the positive grades he gets for combine warriors (see Davis last year). And with Nolan expected to be there at pick 10, Philly fans are already defending Smith because they can see the writing on the wall.

To be fair though, I love Smith and would defend him too.

Unfortunately, Smith will be a good first round pick for Philly… unlike Davis last year, who simply wasn’t worth that pick.

Seems like the perfect replacement for Reddick.

 

[cnuball21]

Smith has some serious power for a guy his size. Good speed too. Have liked him since I first started armchair-scoping players for this draft.

How do you guys feel about Felix Anudike-Uzomah?

Felix is a stud…same pressure percentage as Aidan last year.

Just really wish we knew what kind of athlete he is.

 

[Pass2Run]

Felix is a stud…same pressure percentage as Aidan last year.

Just really wish we knew what kind of athlete he is.

I think he's a fine athlete..

 

[cnuball21]

I think he's a fine athlete..

On tape looks good, just would love to see some numbers. They’re pro day is today so I hope he runs.

 

[xwalker]

Smith has some serious power for a guy his size. Good speed too. Have liked him since I first started armchair-scoping players for this draft.

How do you guys feel about Felix Anudike-Uzomah?

Felix Anudike-Uzomah looks good. Reminds me of DLaw in college but a bit quicker.

At #58 I like him.

At #26 probably not.

 

[cnuball21]

Felix Anudike-Uzomah looks good. Reminds me of DLaw in college but a bit quicker.

At #58 I like him.

At #26 probably not.

Dude has super heavy hands. A lot of his highlights are him bulldozing through double teams.

I’d consider him at 26.

 

[KDM256]

Yeah been high on Nolan Smith since year. Was a huge force on UGA's defensive line and had a game plan for. If paired with the right unit, he could definitely make a name for himself in 1 on 1 matchups on Sundays once he get caught up to the speed of the NFL.

I don't see him getting past pick 15 of this draft and hope like hell he stay away from the NFC East.

 

[cnuball21]

Yeah been high on Nolan Smith since year. Was a huge force on UGA's defensive line and had a game plan for. If paired with the right unit, he could definitely make a name for himself in 1 on 1 matchups on Sundays once he get caught up to the speed of the NFL.

I don't see him getting past pick 15 of this draft and hope like hell he stay away from the NFC East.

Prepare yourself for the Eagles to take him at 10.

 

[beware_d-ware]

In a class that's light on blue chip talent, Smith would totally be worth the Eagles' 10th pick.

Who else would you prefer? Christian Gonzalez would make me think a bit. Tyree Wilson would be an option if you'd prefer a cartoonishly huge power rusher to a small, twitched-up speed guy. But I'm seeing Philly mocked to pick dudes like Skorensi, and he's not close to Nolan Smith IMO.