There’s been a lot of debate and consternation among New Orleans Saints fans after their team passed on former Georgia Bulldogs pass rusher Nolan Smith in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft, but it’s something they should have seen coming. Between the Saints’ stubbornness in sticking to athletic prototypes and a poor system fit, Smith was not and never would have been seriously considered by New Orleans.
From the Saints’ perspective, Smith is about 30 pounds underweight to play defensive end for them. And he isn’t experienced in dropping into coverage, having done so on just 135 or so snaps in college — his role in the Georgia defense was to rush the quarterback, not cover receivers (he produced 11.5 sacks in 46 games, 23 of them starts). They would have tried to convert him to an off-ball linebacker role, which would probably have been just as frustrating for Smith as it’s been for Zack Baun.
