Philly Dawgs — How Have the Eagles’ Georgia Draft Picks Impacted Their Playoff Run?

The Eagles are heading to the NFC Championship game for the second time in three years, and most people would agree that the main reason for that is their defense. This young core, led by Vic Fangio, has completely revitalized the team, as well as the fanbase, after being one of the worst defensive units in the league last year. The credit for this success can be doled out in many ways, from Fangio himself and his excellent coaching to key free agent signings like Zack Baun or C.J. Gardner-Johnson. However if you asked me, I think the bulk of the credit has to go to the former Georgia Bulldogs Howie Roseman has drafted over these past few years.

Currently, there are five former Bulldogs on the active roster, all drafted within the last three years. Those picks are:

Jordan Davis: 2022, Round 1, Pick 13

Nakobe Dean: 2022, Round 3, Pick 83

Jalen Carter: 2023, Round 1, Pick 9

Nolan Smith: Round 1, Pick 30

Kelee Ringo: 2023, Round 4, Pick 105

Nearly all of these players have made an impact in the playoffs so far, and in many ways, it’s not a stretch to say that without them the Eagles’ season would have ended already. So let’s take a look at each player and see the impact they’ve had in these playoffs so far.

Kelee Ringo

We start with Ringo because there’s unfortunately not much to say about him thus far in these playoffs. It’s really not his fault though. He was drafted as a raw athletic piece that could be molded into a defensive starter in the future, and at just 22 years old that’s still a very distinct possibility. Ringo just has the unfortunate luck of being on a team that has a lot of young depth at cornerback, making it hard for him to stand out. However, he has found ways to make his presence known in other ways, such as being a gunner for special teams. While this is surely not the role he hopes to have with the team long term, he has done very well to impact the game in any way he can right now. Here’s hoping he can make a big play soon.

Nakobe Dean

Dean has been a breakout star for the Eagles this year alongside fellow linebacker Zack Baun. After being a special teamer his first season and battling injuries throughout his second, there were a lot of questions surrounding Dean’s ability to play this year. He quickly put all those worries to bed and proved himself a valuable asset to this defense time and again during the regular season. Once the playoffs came around it looked like it would be more of the same. Sadly for Dean, he would tear his patellar tendon in the Eagles’ wild-card matchup against the Packers, ending his season. This was really a shame because Dean was playing at such a high level in this game before the injury, registering six tackles, and two tackles for loss. Here’s hoping that he’ll be able to return for the start of next season, picking right up where he left off.

Jordan Davis

Davis is a tough player to analyze. As a nose tackle, he doesn’t really have a lot of flashy stats that you can turn to in order to break down his performance. In two playoff games, he’s recorded only two tackles, one in each game. However, at 6’6″ and 33 lbs, simply putting him on the field creates an advantage for your defense, because the opposing team is forced to address the literal giant standing across from them. For that reason, I say that the opposing running game can therefore be used as a reflection of Davis’ play, and in the two playoff games thus far the Eagles’ run defense has been very strong. The Packers managed only 107 rushing yards and the Rams just 111 in their respective games. For context, those are the total number of rushing yards accumulated by every Packer or Ram who attempted to run the ball at any point during their games; Saquon Barkley alone rushed for 119 against the Packers and 205 against the Rams. This speaks to the high level of play that the Eagles are getting from their run stuffers, and when Jordan Davis is your biggest run stuffer, he deserves his flowers

Jalen Carter

At this point, we’re running out of superlatives to use for Carter. He has been an absolute beast since arriving in Philly last year and he has only gotten better with each passing game. In the playoffs, Carter has seven tackles, five QB hits, two tackles for loss, two sacks, two pass deflections, and one forced fumble. Absolutely unreal numbers. Beyond just the numbers though, these plays came at critical moments in the games. The biggest example would have to be his sack on Matthew Stafford in the final minute of the game against the Rams, where they were in the endzone with a chance to take the lead. This sack pushed them into a fourth and 11 where Carter would record a QB hit, forcing Stafford’s pass to be nowhere near its intended target and sealing the victory for the Eagles. Carter is a flat-out stud and I can’t wait to see what else he’ll do in the playoffs.

Nolan Smith

If Jalen Carter is a beast, then Nolan Smith is a godsend. I legitimately mean that too. In a year where the Eagles traded Haason Reddick, signed Bryce Huff and got nothing out of him all year, lost Brandon Graham to a season-ending injury, and have gotten varying levels of production out of Josh Sweat, Nolan Smith has been the only reliable edge rusher all season. After a very underwhelming rookie season, Smith has bounced back in a big way to become a top contributor on this defense, and in my opinion the defensive MVP of the playoffs so far for this Eagles team. Through the two playoff games, he has recorded 12 tackles, three sacks, three tackles for loss, two QB hits, and a forced fumble. He’s made himself a player that’s simply impossible to ignore. It just seems like every play he’s impacting the game, and that presence has paid dividends so far during this playoff run.

And that really goes for all these players. Every one of them has made a positive impact on this team in one way or another, and the Eagles are better off for it. The job’s not done yet though, so they need to keep making a positive impact throughout these playoffs All of these players know what it’s like to win it all, leading Georgia to back-to-back College Football National Championships, so now it’s time for them to take this championship pedigree and use it to help them win a Super Bowl as well.

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