The most predictable thing just happened in the draft. The Eagles took a defensive player from Georgia.
With the No. 161 overall pick (fifth round), the Eagles selected Georgia linebacker Smael Mondon Jr. on Saturday afternoon.
Mondon, 22, was a three-year starter for Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs and will join a bunch of his former college teammates on the Eagles roster. Mondon is the eighth Georgia player on the Eagles’ roster, joining Jalen Carter, Lewis Cine, Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, Azeez Ojulari, Kelee Ringo and Nolan Smith.
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SIGN UP HERE While Mondon (6-2, 224) missed some time with foot injuries over his last two college seasons, he was a productive player with 201 tackles over his three seasons as a starter. Despite being just 6-foot-2, Mondon has a wingspan of over 80 inches, which puts him in the 81st percentile.
And, keeping with a common theme for the Eagles, Mondon has an impressive athletic profile.
In an interview with The Draft Network in January, Mondon gave a scouting report on himself: “I would say I'm a versatile athlete. I'm very effective in space. I think this past season, I showed a lot of development inside the box. This was probably my best season playing near the line of scrimmage, especially when I came back late in the season after the few games I missed. I feel like I'm great in space. I'm a good coverage linebacker in man-to-man coverage. I'm still getting better inside the box. I'm growing in that area, making strides.”
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While he was a reserve as a freshman in 2021, he took over a starting gig when some key linebackers (including Dean) left Georgia for the NFL in 2022. In the last three years, Mondon started 32 games for the Bulldogs.
Here’s what The Athletic’s Dane Brugler wrote about Mondon:
“Mondon is one of the best athletes at the position in this draft class (Smart calls him "as good an athlete" as he has ever seen) and has the read-react quickness, change-of-direction skills and open-field acceleration to track down plays. He displays the physicality to work of contact versus the run and as a blitzer, but he can do a better job staying ahead of blocks and when dropping in coverage to sniff out passing lanes. Overall, Mondon needs to see things a half-beat faster to reach his full potential, but his athletic range and toughness give him upside as a four-down NFL linebacker. His health could be the main concern that keeps him from becoming an NFL starter.”
The Eagles always value the Senior Bowl as an important step of the pre-draft process and Mondon had a good showing in Mobile, Alabama, this year. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein called Mondon a standout from Senior Bowl:
“He flashed acceleration and sideline-to-sideline range during the scrimmage portion of the day. He also shined in some of his one-on-one coverage reps that tend to heavily favor the offensive player. In pass-rush drills, Mondon was able to overwhelm running backs who tried to slow him.”