Howie Roseman explains where Eagles went wrong with Nolan Smith originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Why draft Nolan Smith in the first round and then not play him?
Good question.
And a question with no valid answer.
Smith, the 30th pick in last year’s draft, had a promising training camp, then disappeared once the season began.
He never played more than nine snaps in the Eagles’ first 10 games and averaged just 6.1 snaps per game through the Chiefs game. At one point in the middle of the season, he played just 11 snaps in a three-game stretch.
His numbers nudged up after that, but even with 41 snaps in the season finale against the Giants – most after the game had been decided – he averaged only 11 snaps per game.
Even late in the season, when the edge rushers weren’t making an impact – four sacks the last eight games, none the last four – Smith rode the bench.
He didn’t do a ton with the snaps he did get. A sack. Three QB hits. A tackle for loss. Eighteen tackles. But can you even fairly evaluate a player who’s barely playing?
Nope.
Both defensive coordinators are gone, and on Tuesday Howie Roseman admitted what we all knew.
Smith should have played more.
“In retrospect, just seeing him certainly in the playoff game, one of the guys who played well in the playoff game, maybe giving him a little bit more time during the year and experience, we talked about that,” Roseman said at the combine in Indianapolis.
“He’s got all the right tools in his body. He’s got the right mentality. And at the same time, he’s got to go out and show it.”
Smith played 16 snaps in the wild-card loss to the Bucs and it was by far his best game. He split a sack with Fletcher Cox, had four tackles in just 16 snaps and he had a quarterback hit. Pro Football Focus gave him the 4th-highest grade of all edge rushers wild-card weekend at 84.9 (Brandon Graham was highest at 90.2).
Where was that all year?
Sitting on the bench for 84 percent of the Eagles’ defensive…
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