Philadelphia Eagles make NFL Draft history with fifth Georgia pick

Updated Apr 29, 2023 4:23 pm ET

The Philadelphia Eagles made some noise in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft on Saturday, nabbing Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter with the No. 9 overall pick, followed by fellow Bulldog Nolan Smith, a defensive end, at No. 30.

Carter was tabbed as the best player in the draft by many, and Smith was the former No. 1 overall recruit in the 2019 class, according to multiple high school recruiting services. This marked the second consecutive draft in which the Eagles drafted two Georgia defensive players in the first three rounds, as they took defensive tackle Jordan Davis with the No. 13 overall pick and linebacker Nakobe Dean in the third round last year.

However, the Eagles decide to further extend the Bulldogs pipeline, selecting cornerback Kelee Ringo in the fourth round in this year's draft. With that selection, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman made draft history.

The Eagles are the first team in the common draft era (since 1967) to select five defensive players from the same school over a two-year span. It's also worth noting that four of those five players were consensus five-star prospects in high school, with Davis being the lone exception as a three-star.

This was also the first time Philadelphia had ever drafted three players from a single school in the common draft era.

The Eagles' three defensive selections this year also tied the record for most defensive players selected from a single school in one draft. It had been done six times, most recently by the New England Patriots in 2013 when they took three defensive players from Rutgers.

What's more, the Eagles traded for another Bulldog — running back D'Andre Swift — mid-draft. They received Swift and a seventh-round pick (No. 249) in exchange for a fourth-rounder in 2025 and a seventh-rounder (No. 219) in this year's draft.

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