Philadelphia Eagles were smart to bet on another Georgia product in the 2025 NFL draft
Smael Mondon isn’t being talked about enough.
The Philadelphia Eagles added an eighth Georgia Bulldogs product to their roster when they drafted linebacker Smael Mondon in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. After Week 2 of the team’s preseason, it seems to have been a smart gamble.
Mondon has been having an impressive training camp, topped off with two quality preseason performances, though he really turned heads against the Cleveland Browns on Saturday.
He played 33 snaps, making four tackles in the Eagles’ 22-13 loss.
His performance earned some praise from fellow rookie linebacker Jihaad Campbell, who logged four tackles and a sack on 28 defensive snaps.
“He’s a very instinctive player, another great linebacker we have in our room. I couldn’t be more proud of Smael because I know how hard he works, too,” Campbell said. “I see it each and every day. Like I said, I’m really proud of him and I love working with him.”
While Mondon noticed the small improvement he made following his performance against the Cincinnati Bengals, he remains unsatisfied.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say it was a big improvement, because there are still some things I need to work on, but I think I made improvement, I think I took a step in the right direction,” Mondon said.
Even if a starting job isn’t on the horizon for him, Mondon has proven his ability to provide the Eagles with solid depth in their linebacker room, especially while they wait for Nakobe Dean to return from his knee injury.
Mondon takes the jump to the NFL after racking up 212 total tackles, including 18 tackles for loss, eight sacks, and one interception through 51 games with the Bulldogs. He also showcased his versatility in pass defense, logging five pass breakups.
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