Philadelphia landed an A+ from most draft experts after landing a solid seven player class, and the defensive additions are a major reason why.
Fox Sports ranked the top 10 NFC East rookies set to make the biggest impact, and Eagles stud defensive tackle Jalen Carter landing at No. 1 on the list.
Philadelphia had three players make the list overall.
1. DT Jalen Carter, Philadelphia Eagles (1st round, 9th overall):
The Georgia All-American has looked impressive during his first few weeks of on-field action.
He’s the obvious choice for the top spot considering the Eagles have a Javon Hargrave-sized hole to fill in the middle of their defensive line (and keep in mind Linval Joseph and Ndamukong Suh are gone, too). The Eagles were aggressive in their pursuit of him because they believe he can have an immediate impact, and he’s a lock to be a Day 1 starter next to Fletcher Cox.
6. LB Nolan Smith, Eagles (1st round, 30th overall):
Smith is listed at the SAM position, but he’ll see time at edge rusher and weakside linebacker.
There should be plenty of opportunities for the 6-2, 238-pound Smith to work into the edge-rushing rotation and flash his 4.39 speed. He figures to see more opportunities on obvious passing downs at first, though even then he’s the third wheel to Hasaan Reddick and Brandon Graham.
Graham, though, is a part-time player these days, so the only limitations on Smith will be on how the edge rushers are used in Sean Desai’s defensive scheme. Don’t expect Reddick to come off the field much, but it’s a good bet Desai will find a use for two speedy pass rushers off the edge.
10. S Sydney Brown, Eagles (3rd round, 66th overall):
Brown has run with the third team early on, but he’s made his presence felt and a surge up the depth chart is expected.
The Eagles let both their starting safeties go and replaced them by taking one-year fliers on veterans Terrell Edmunds and K’Von Wallace. So while Brown’s opportunities might be limited at first, they figure to grow as the season goes along. He’s an aggressive safety (sometimes over-aggressive) who was good at covering tight ends in college. So it really all depends on how Desai uses him. But again, an opportunity will be there.
