Have you watched the film on Nolan and Anderson? What was your opinion on both?
Micah Parsons was an off ball LB at Penn St. He did not play as an edge rusher he was in the mold of Brian Urlacher. Seek and destroy. He was unblockable. Early on with the Cowboys they realized his potential as a pass rusher because nobody could block him any where he lined up. He is very unique to have the instincts to do both so well. Nolan Smith is not in this league.
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Ha! I was going to do the same. Was happy this thread popped up.
I get a good feeling when considering and compromising for Nolan. I get a bad vibe when compromising for Carter. A little less terrible for JSN. I feel Wilson is extremely redundant with Commish and Pascal.
If Nolan can play off ball well, he never needs to come off the field. Obviously you want to leverage his best skills off the edge, but I feel like Hutch and Pascal (with Romeo and Commish rotating) are our base edges. With Nolan playing Sam on the closed edge, our run D would be elite. If he can get comfortable in space, the blitz packages with him, Barnes, and AA would be lethal. Glenn has to be salivating at that option since he’s one of the most blitz happy DCs.
Then kick Hutch and Pascal inside in the Nascar package with Houston and Smith on the edges…damn that’s a ball hawkers dream. Kirby, CJGJ, and co will be racking up turnovers on the backend.
One thing I believe has to be considered in the top 10 is an athletic freak that plays football very well and LOVES the game. Nolan Smith checks all those boxes.
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Micah Parsons was a high school edge rusher who Penn State chose to stand up. He is not brand new to the position like James Houston. Houston spent every day working and dreaming to become the “green dot” of the defense as the playcalling LB. Getting to the QB was just supposed to be a feature of his game, not the whole shebang. Parsons was an edge and played the position well. But to be fair to your point about Parsons being a freak and unique athlete, he could probably be a decent nickel corner if that’s where a team wanted to play him.
Another thing about Parsons is that he is annoyingly competitive. He takes every chance he gets to turn things into a competition. When Sun God was out there getting the extra 202 balls off the jugs machine, Parsons would have been right there by his side showing him he could do 302. Then he would talk shit to every receiver who wasn’t out there with them catching balls. If you were in a car accident with Micah where both of you were paralyzed from the waist down, he is the kind of guy that would still challenge you to a race to the cell phone to call for help. Then talk shit when he beats you.
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No and I have none. Nolan Smith and Da Problem are trying to be Von Miller type edge rushers as far as I know. When you say Nolan Smith is different entirely, I’m asking how. If you start from their common ground of being bendy, undersized edge rushers, what direction are you going with Nolan that he’s entirely different? It’s not a test or a trap, I’m just asking. Are they entirely different in what else they can do? Is it in specific ability?
With one of either Carter or Wilson available at 6, I would be surprised if they went with Smith.
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Smith is a great edge run defender which I’ve always found weird given his athletic profile.
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I am not setting a trap either. I respect your opinion so my question was my way of taking a step back and trying to gain perspective on your view of the players. When you see something for yourself, we agree most of the time. So I was just trying to assertain whether you hadn’t seen the film, or whether it was the rare instance where we came away with differing opinions on the same film.
My comment about being different was related to a triangle of players. Da Problem…Will Anderson…Nolan Smith. I have said that Will Anderson is redundant to Da Problem. This isn’t to say they are literally identical. But from a coaches perspective and how you would use the players, they have tremendous overlap and would compete for the same snaps a ton. I consider Will Anderson to be an undersized edge with pass rush ability. He can play some LB but its more of a part time job to confuse offenses than something that he could make a living doing.
Nolan Smith is a different animal. He is a special athlete with a unique blend of traits that involve intelligence, speed, agility, bend and power. If we just use Lions players to make a point I would say when it comes time to set the edge and attack the run game he’s Aidan Hutchinson. When its time to rush the passer he is Da Problem. When its time to play in space as a LB he’s Rodrigo. Nolan doubles down on the physical traits with the mental game. So when he is playing the Aidan role he processes information like Aidan does. And when he is in the Rodrigo role he processes information like Rodrigo does.
Da Problem is a weapon that we used selectively and the more he plays the more the coaches will have to hide his weaknesses within the scheme. Nolan Smith has no weaknesses. So you throw him out there as much as you can to expose the other teams weaknesses.
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I don’t see Anderson or Smith having the ability to bend around the edge quite like Da Problem. Da Problem has a very unique talent to bend around the edge and close. That may be his only talent but it’s a good one to have.
I think Anderson is the best football player of the 3. He is very good at setting the edge and he can bull rush because he converts speed to power then shed the block and close. He does not bend around the edge but he has a whole arsenal of moves to shed blocks. I think he is much stronger at the point of attack than he gets credit for.
Smith I have to watch more tape on because he missed some key games down the stretch. I do know he plays much better in space than the other 2. He can run in coverage. He is also good in zone coverage and can close in an instant when he sees the play in front of him. Screen passes or QB scrambles usually end very quickly. I will watch more on him before I form a final opinion.
Houston has the capability of destroying screens and QB scrambles. I just remember that 3rd sack vs. Fields with that recognition and closing speed.
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Yes he can close in an instant!
To each his own on these evaluations. But I just don’t see it. That’s fine. One of us will be wrong. Nolan might turn out to be an All-Pro, and light it up with 12-15 sacks and TFLs. But I don’t see the Von Miller Micah Parsons world beater you speak of. He’s a smart guy and a gifted athlete, but I see just a guy on tape. When I watched Parsons I saw a freakshow killer out there absolutely gutting people at another level, a different speed. It was why I pounded the table so hard for him. With Nolan, while I like the enthusiasm and passion, I’ll believe it when I see it on the field
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Thanks for your breakdown. It’s appreciated.
I agree with you that he’s an edge first, and that justifies the top 10 slot. If he was an off-ball guy first that has pass rushing chops second, then the positional value isn’t there.
Having an onslaught of fresh pass rushers seems like a great recipe for winning, especially with our ball control offense. Outside of a QB that the staff loves, I’m putting Nolan Smith up there as 1a for our pick.
I think he will for sure be in the mix.
That’s the same role as Houston
My question is who does he replace in our base 4=2 front? Hutch, Commish, Rodrigo or Anzalone? I think that could be Romeo instead of Commish or even Paschal. Or does he just wait until we get into a 3rd and long and rotate in and out with the other guys?
If we take him I wouldnt be shocked if we run more 3-4 with Houston and Smith as the OLBs
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I am not sure why this has to be turned into a right vs wrong situation. I am evaluating Nolan as a prospect and so are you. The only difference is we see a different ceiling.
Here is an assessment by Luke Stampini in 2018 as Nolan was coming out of high school. What he saw in Nolan as a teenager is what I have seen on Georgia film and what the combine confirmed.
Kelvin may hate it but Nolan Smith really is the perfect Justin Fields spy.
Certain positions you can’t have too many of. DL is one of them. Look at Philly, look at SF.
He’s a smart kid and as others have said, is practically wearing a sweater that says “I’m an MCDC guy”.
Who cares if he’s edge 100% of the time or not? In the NFL he will have to learn the entire line. Throw Houston out there on the edge and stick him next to him, or vice versa, because you know Houston doesn’t give a shit where he is playing. Or stick him over by Hutch. Remember this is all rotational.
You’re a QB, and you see from left to right:
Houston McNeil Smith Hutch.
Or Smith Houston McNeil Hutch.
Or Hutch Smith McNeil Houston.
Either way it’s a bad day at the office.
I’m not advocating for the kid necessarily (wouldn’t mind at all though), just playing devil’s advocate to some saying they’re already covered at that position. And I didn’t even include Paschal or the Commish.
Hutch, Paschal, McNeil, Smith, Commish, Houston.
Like I said, bad day at the office for QBs no matter where they are lined up, with a hand in the ground or standing up.
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