Nolan Smith had a ancient day on the NFL Draft Combine

Staring on the NFL Combine from inside Lucas Oil Stadium is a reasonably surreal expertise.

In preference to the raucous environment you constantly look for in an NFL stadium, it’s a long way a critical extra subdued, even sterilized environment. The most sensible seemingly sounds you in actuality hear are the instructions from the NFL coaches and scouts working the drills, and most ceaselessly the enraged exclamations of the prospects after a dropped circulation, a unhurried 40-yard toddle time, or something else. There had been moments when an spectacular drill drew the honour of the fans in attendance, and even the journalists within the building, but for the most piece, Thursday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium used to be extra subdued than your abnormal NFL environment.

That approach silence, however, can also no longer overshadow the day that Georgia circulation rusher Nolan Smith had on Thursday afternoon.

Smith posted a blazing-snappy 4.39 40-yard toddle, and even as you added within the 41.5-plod vertical that he posted, it added as a lot as reasonably of NFL Combine ancient previous. As favorite by Prosperous Eisen for the length of the published, Smith changed into the heaviest player in Combine ancient previous to post a sub-4.4 40-yard toddle, along with a vertical of larger than 40 inches.

Smith weighed in at 239 pounds sooner than trying out on Thursday.

Both his vertical, and his 40-yard toddle, had been the quickest of the defensive linemen who tested on Thursday. He also posted the third-most sensible seemingly good soar of the community, which measured in at 10’8:

This is the roughly performance that will maybe look for a player power their intention into the first spherical of the NFL draft. Coming into the 2022 season, Smith used to be notion of a doable first-spherical prospect, but a torn pectoral muscle suffered in November stamp him the comfort of his season for the Bulldogs.

That seen his draft stock, which in line with the mock drafts accumulated by NFL Mock Draft Database had been inside the first spherical, initiating as a lot as lope in direction of the second:

On the opposite hand, a performance love this seemingly sees that stock capture one other flip, this time bigger into the first spherical.

It is price noting that Smith’s dimension makes him undersized by defensive close requirements. As favorite by Kent Lee Platte and his Relative Athletic Scoring, Smith’s trying out used to be within the elite fluctuate, but his weight is undersized for a pure defensive close:

Somebody else that posted similar measurables? Somebody that Smith is drawing comparisons to. Haason Reddick, he of the 16-sacks season this previous twelve months for the Philadelphia Eagles:

In all likelihood the most critical a part of Smith’s day? How his 40-yard toddle when when put next with some NFL huge receivers:

On the opposite hand you reduce it, a in actuality stable day for the Georgia circulation rusher.