It took Nolan Smith longer than expected as the former Georiga outside linebacker lasted well into the first round before Philadelphia took him with the 30th overall pick in the NFL Draft.

Nevertheless, the Eagles got themselves a good one to join Jalen Carter, who they traded up to get with the 9th selection earlier in the evening.

Smith stole the show at the NFL Combine, excelling in multiple events at Lucas Oil Stadium. After missing the final seven games of the 2022 season due to a torn pectoral muscle, Smith showed teams how good he truly was.

The highlight came in the 40-yard dash. Smith clocked an official 4.39-second time, a blazing speed considering he checked in at 6-foot-2 and 238 pounds.

That time is the second-fastest by a defensive lineman since 2003, and faster than NFL stars such as Saquon Barkley, Stefon Diggs, and DeAndre Hopkins.

"I was just upset. I really wanted to do everything at full speed today. I thought I didn’t run my best race," Smith said. "Cap said it looked good. Ryan Capretta at ProActive said it looked really good. I thought I didn’t run my best race. I thought I had a little more juice. I kind of felt like I was going 85 percent."

Smith led all players in his position group with a 41.5-inch vertical jump, becoming the heaviest player in NFL Combine history with a 40-inch or higher vertical jump and a sub-4.4-second 40-yard dash.