The 2023 NFL draft is here, and we’ll soon learn who the Chicago Bears welcome to the team on night one.
After trading the first overall pick to the Carolina Panthers before free agency, the Bears are in a prime position at ninth overall, where there will be some top prospects on the board.
Many expect Chicago to target an offensive tackle or, if they’re lucky, land Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter if he falls. But perhaps another Bulldogs defender could be in play.
Georgia edge rusher Nolan Smith told Heavy’s Matt Lombardo that the Bears and Philadelphia Eagles have shown the “most interest” in drafting him during this pre-draft process.
Smith is everything Chicago is looking for in an edge rusher — he’s an athletic, high-motor player who can disrupt the quarterback and is the kind of high-character leader that Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus gravitate toward.
Ahead of the #NFLDraft, @GeorgiaFootball EDGE Nolan Smith tells me the #Bears and #Eagles have been the two teams that have shown the most interest in taking him | @HeavyOnSports pic.twitter.com/mP6CIstztM
— Matt Lombardo 🏈 (@MattLombardoNFL) April 26, 2023
Smith has met with the Bears a couple of times, including when they hosted him for a Top 30 visit. Before that visit, he reached out to former Bears linebacker Roquan Smith about the organization, and Roquan (now with the Baltimore Ravens) had nothing but good things to say.
“Oh man, what a great organization,” Smith said, via Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Chicago. “I talked to Roquan about the Bears organization and he said nothing but highly things about them. … But man, it’s just a great organization. I hear nothing but amazing things about them.”
Smith could be a surprise option for the Bears come No. 9, or he’s a prime target in a trade-back scenario. We’ll see if Chicago’s interest manifests into bringing the dominant defender to the Bears.
