Nolan Smith Jr. doesn’t get a lot of the spotlight in Philadelphia, even now.
When the Eagles used a late first-round pick on the former Georgia edge rusher in 2023, he landed in the middle of a draft class already defined by Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter, the pair of Bulldogs defenders taken in consecutive first rounds by general manager Howie Roseman. Since then, Davis and Carter have become two of the league’s top interior forces, while Smith’s path has been far bumpier.
Injuries and uneven production have kept him from building real momentum. There have been flashes, sure, but they’ve been mixed with long stretches where he hasn’t been able to cash in on the promise that made him a first-round pick. Smith is signed through the 2027 season, but his long-term future in Philadelphia is still very much unresolved.
Week 1 gives him a clean opening to change that conversation.
With the pectoral injury to key free agent addition Jonathan Greenard, Smith suddenly has a prime chance to reset the narrative and make a statement against Washington. The matchup lines up in his favor, too. The Commanders are starting Brandon Coleman on the blindside after the injury to left tackle Laremy Tunsil, and second-year right tackle Josh Conerly Jr. is also in the crosshairs.
Conerly Jr., a 22-year-old out of Oregon, brings athletic ability, but the mistakes have been there. He gave up 8 sacks while starting all 17 games as a rookie and was flagged 13 times.
That’s the kind of tackle situation that can get exposed fast, especially in a loud season opener at The Linc.
For Smith, who has 10.5 career sacks, including three in 2025, this is the sort of matchup that can help him start answering the biggest questions around his game. He has drawn praise for his work against the run, and his pass-rush pressure rate has been close to Jalyx Hunt’s output. But the health issues and inconsistency have kept him from turning that into a clearer future.
Greenard arrived and quickly locked into a long-term deal, while Hunt has been billed as a breakout waiting to happen. Smith, meanwhile, is still the one flying under the radar.
That can change quickly in one game. And if Week 1 breaks the right way, Smith has a real chance to remind everybody why he went in the first round in the first place.
In Other News...
Eagles Fans Are Losing A Familiar Game Day Voice This Season
Ron Jaworski will be a familiar voice no longer on Eagles game days next season, after announcing he will not return to ESPN or NBC Sports Philadelphia for the 2026 NFL season. The former Eagles quarterback spent four years on the teams pregame and postgame shows, bringing the perspective and polish that come with a long broadcasting career built after his playing days.
Jaworski said the decision comes from a desire to spend more time with family, closing a run that stretched well beyond Philadelphia and into national NFL coverage. NBC Sports Philadelphia acknowledged his departure and praised what he brought to its coverage, leaving the Eagles broadcast setup facing a noticeable change as another season approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Suddenly Have A Very Different Week 4 Problem
For much of the week, the Eagles were preparing for a familiar kind of headache, the sort that comes with lining up against Myles Garrett and everything he can disrupt off the edge. Instead, Garrett is expected to undergo arthroscopic knee surgery and land on injured reserve, which removes him from the Rams Week 4 matchup and changes the conversation in a hurry.
Philadelphia now has to redirect its attention toward the rest of a Rams defense that still has plenty of bite, with Aaron Donald looming as the obvious central concern. The Eagles game plan will look different without Garrett in the picture, and while the broad strategic adjustments are easy to imagine, the real question is how much this sudden shift alters what had been a very specific week of preparation. [Read more 🡒]
Eagles Finally Showed Their Hand Behind Jalen Hurts
The Eagles spent the week keeping their backup quarterback plan under wraps, and on game day they finally revealed who would be behind Jalen Hurts. Andy Dalton will serve as the No. 2 quarterback against the Washington Commanders, a choice that had been intentionally left open as Nick Sirianni tried to preserve a competitive edge.
Dalton and Tanner McKee both worked as possible options throughout the week, so Philadelphia was able to keep Washington guessing until shortly before kickoff. It is a small detail in the larger game plan, but one that shows how carefully the Eagles are managing even the spots behind Hurts as they head into a divisional matchup. [Read more 🡒]