All things considered, Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter is already one of the best in his position in the NFL. In 2024, his second season in the pros, the former Georgia Bulldogs star had 4.5 sacks and 16 quarterback hits across 15 games while earning his first Pro Bowl nod.
On top of those, Carter is already a Super Bowl champion, as he helped the Eagles take down Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs on the big stage last February.
Still, Carter is humble (and aware) enough to recognize that there’s still plenty of work for him to do before he can be recognized as the top man in his position.
“This is what I wanted to do,” Carter said (via Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia). “I wanted to be the best at what I do, try to be the best. I’m not there yet. I still got a lot of people in front of me that’s obviously been in the league a couple (more) years, got years of experience on me. But I’m just going to keep grinding every day. Not just me by myself working on specific things to get better, just being around the team having the guys support me also makes me also be one of the best in the league.”
Philadelphia Eagles’ Carter ranks high on PFF list
Meanwhile, Carter is already among the best in the eyes of others. Pro Football Focus recently shared its ranking for the top 32 interior defenders in the league, and Carter, who was taken in the first round (ninth overall) by the Eagles in the 2023 NFL draft, came in at the No. 5 spot.
Only Chris Jones of the Chiefs, Dexter Lawrence of the New York Giants, Cam Heyward of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Quinnen Williams of the New York Jets are ranked higher than Carter.
Here’s what PFF had to say about Carter in the rankings: “Carter’s 73.3 PFF overall grade from 2024 doesn’t jump out, but his 84.4 and 84.6 PFF pass-rush grades in each of the past two seasons with 125 total pressures certainly do. He’s not as well-rounded in run defense yet, but he’s already a game-wrecking pass rusher.”
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