Philadelphia Eagles Emerge As Biggest Winners Following Day 1 Of 2023 NFL Draft

The Philadelphia Eagles could not have envisioned a better start to the 2023 NFL Draft.

The defending NFC champions somehow emerged as the biggest winners of Day 1 of the NFL draft after getting a steal with defensive tackle Jalen Carter at the No. 9 pick and an even bigger one in outside linebacker Nolan Smith with the N0. 30 overall pick.

Not only did the Eagles nab two stud defenders from the national champion Georgia Bulldogs, they did so without having to really give up anything in return. Philadelphia traded their No. 10 pick to move up to the No.9 pick with the Chicago Bears in order to snag Carter. However, all they had to give up was a 2024 fourth-rounder to ensure they drafted a player who was considered the top prospect in the draft prior to facing misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing.

As NFL.com points out, draft expert Daniel Jeremiah considered Carter to be the top prospect back in January.

“The Georgia defender was originally NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah’s top prospect back in January, but off-field concerns — Carter was booked and released on misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing on March 1, stemming from an investigation into a fatal crash — impacted his stock during the draft process.”

The fact that Carter somehow slipped past the Seattle Seahawks at No. 5 — many mock drafts had the unanimous All-American slotted there — and dropped into the Eagles’ laps at No. 9 is a case of the rich getting richer.

Remember — the Eagles had the most ferocious front seven in the NFL last season. Not only did the defensive unit lead the league with 70 sacks, it ranks as one of the greatest in NFL history, having come up two sacks short of the NFL single-season record set by the Chicago Bears in 1984.

While the Carter pick is sure to get most of the attention, the fact that Smith — who was considered a potential No. 10 overall pick to the Eagles in some mock drafts — dropped to the No. 30 pick is an even bigger steal for Philadelphia, as NFL.com notes.

“Eagles GM Howie Roseman landed another steal at the end of the first round, snagging a prospect several draft analysts thought could be off the board at No. 10 overall. A Haason Reddick clone, Smith is capable of playing various positions along the Eagles’ defensive front. He clocked the second-fastest 40-yard dash (4.39 seconds) of any edge defender at the NFL Scouting Combine since 2003, and posted top-5 percentile marks among his position group in the 10-yard split (1.52 seconds), broad jump (10-foot-8) and vertical jump (41.5 inches).”

If Smith had been picked at No. 10, he’d earn a projected contract of just under $21 million with a $3.8 million cap hit for the 2023 season. Instead, he has a projected contract of around $12 million with a $2.2 million cap hit for the 2023 season.

Prior to the draft, there was a big debate as to who the Eagles should take with the No. 10 overall pick. Most expected Carter to be gone by then, but arguments were made that Philadelphia should take the best RB prospect in the draft, Bijan Robinson, over a potential defensive star.

Not only did the Eagles end up making the right picks with their two first-round draft selections, Robinson was selected by the Atlanta Falcons with the No. 8 pick, negating any potential controversy or uproar when Philadelphia emerged on the clock with the next pick.

With two more Bulldogs in the fold, they’ll fit in perfectly with the Eagles’ two Georgia picks from last season, OLB Nakobe Dean and defensive tackle Jordan Davis. In fact, Carter acknowledged the importance of playing with his former teammates in Philadelphia.

“Playing with former teammates Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean – that’s an exciting moment for me,” Carter said after being selected by the Eagles. “Those guys were the leaders of our (2021 championship team). If I have any questions, I know I can ask them or anyone on the team.”

The Eagles went through a bit of a makeover on the defensive unit in the offseason. They lost key defensive tackle Javon Hargrave along with linebackers T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White. They now replace those three former starters with two of the best defensive prospects in the draft not named Will Anderson Jr.

Speaking of Anderson, the Houston Texans emerged as big Day 1 winners with their No. 2 overall pick of quarterback C.J. Stroud and their No. 3 pick of Anderson. While the Texans could very well emerge as the next up-and-coming team in the NFL, the Eagles may have solidified themselves as the Super Bowl favorites following their two draft picks in the first round.

With Carter and Smith now in the fold, Philadelphia’s defense might be even better than they were last season.

That makes the Eagles the biggest Day 1 winners of the 2023 NFL Draft.