Josh Sweat says Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith 'work ethic is pretty crazy'

Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Josh Sweat had high praise for first round picks Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith ahead of OTAs.

The Eagles selected both former Georgia stars in the first round off of back-to-back national championships for the Bulldogs. Sweat was impressed with the rookies and the team isn’t even in the thick of training camp yet.

If it’s this good already, who knows how great Carter and Smith can be for the defending NFC Champions.

“The work ethic is pretty crazy for both of them,” Sweat said Wednesday. “They’re already working. Shoot, they’re professionals, man. Like it’s actually surprising coming out of college. 

“But they’re working. They’re just here to learn and they’re making (improvements) quickly.”

Carter finished his career at Georgia as a disruptive defensive tackle, consistently drawing double teams. He had 83 total tackles, 44 solo tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, four pass deflections and two forced fumbles.

Smith meanwhile, had 110 total tackles, 63 solo tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, one interception, three pass deflections, one fumble recovery and three forced fumbles.

Carter and Smith were key cogs to Georgia’s back-to-back national championship squads.

“They’ve been on championship teams already,” Sweat said of Carter and Smith. “I think they just know how to go about their business.”

The Eagles held the No. 10 overall pick, but traded up to No. 9 with the Chicago Bears to take Carter — the first of three Georgia players they selected through four rounds of the draft.

“Obviously, he’s had a tough spring and a tragic loss of life in Georgia, and our hearts go out to the families of those who lost people in that accident,” Roseman said on ESPN in April. “For us, it was a full process on Jalen and we feel very comfortable that he can have success in Philly. We don’t put that on our Georgia players. He’s our responsibility. We’re going to rally around him. We think he’s a tremendous talent, a good person. Again, young guy.

“We talk all the time, these guys, we bring them in here, we have to develop them. We can’t just ask them to come on the field and play. We’ve got to develop them on and off the field. That’s our responsibility. We have a great staff here that takes that part of the job really seriously, so we’ll really around him and give him the support that he needs to be a great player on the field and the best person he can be off the field.”

Smith simply slipped due to some injury concerns from 2022. But like Carter, Smith was too good to pass on for the Eagles.