National Football League

Eagles teammates marvel at rookie DT Jalen Carter: 'He's a game-changer'

Published Aug. 25, 2023 3:47 p.m. ET

The play that everyone will remember, the one that has an entire city drooling in anticipation, was just a "normal thing" to Jalen Carter. It was his first snap in his first NFL preseason game and he just casually shoved a 370-pound guard aside and shot like a rocket through the pocket at the opposing quarterback.

No big deal, he insisted. Just "a little example" of what he can do, he said.

And maybe he's right, because that play that instantly became a viral sensation wasn't the only example Carter provided this summer. There were more. Many, many more.

Like when he dominated offensive linemen in joint practices against the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts. Or when he gave the Eagles' own powerful line fits in team drills. Or that time in rookie minicamp when he supposedly broke a blocking sled — a seemingly apocryphal story that at least one of his teammates has seemed to confirm.

It has all left the Eagles raving about the potential of this 6-foot-3, 314-pound defensive tackle and marveling at his strength, his speed and his overall ability. They haven't shied away from comparing him to some great, recent, Eagles defensive linemen — and at least one large, angry animal, too.

"He looks like a baby rhino," said Eagles cornerback Darius Slay, while feeding the hype on his "Big Play Slay" YouTube show last weekend. "You ever seen a baby rhino and you just [think], ‘Man, he's crazy.' He's pushing folks back. You can ask [Eagles right tackle] Lane Johnson. Lane Johnson said it himself. One of the best tackles in the game said this guy is ready to play right now and is ready to take control of a game right now. He's a game-changer."

"He's kind of similar to [Javon] Hargrave," Johnson said. "His pass-rush ability. I'm trying to think of somebody inside. He's bigger than a Geno Atkins, but pretty twitchy, man. He's like a bigger Geno, I would say. But yeah, man, he's impressive. He's impressed me.

"I think Jalen Carter's going to make a lot of noise this year, I really do."

That was the fear of a lot of NFL people as they watched Carter slide down the NFL draft board back in April. Multiple scouts and executives told FOX Sports they had the Georgia defender ranked as the top defensive player in the draft. Some had him ranked as the top player overall. The main reason he wasn't taken with one of the top two picks was because of his involvement in a fatal car crash in March, for which he was charged with reckless driving and racing and sentenced to one year of probation and 50 hours of community service.

That incident, along with vague questions about his maturity, sent Carter spiraling almost right into the Eagles' lap. They had him rated at the top of their board and, according to a team source, and were plotting a trade up from their spot at No. 10 for weeks in anticipation of his slide. And once he got past the Atlanta Falcons at No. 8 they made their move, sending a 2024 fourth-round pick to the Chicago Bears to move up one spot and take Carter at No. 9.

That caused heads to explode around the league at the thought of the NFL's best defensive line and the defending NFC champions adding the draft's best defensive lineman. Coming off a historic season, in which the Eagles had a near-record 70 sacks, they added a player who was a dominant interior defender and pass-rusher in college. And right after losing Hargrave and his 11 sacks in free agency, the league basically gift-wrapped a replacement for them.

And Carter sure has looked like a more-than-adequate replacement so far.

"I'm not going to compare him to who I want to compare him to, but I've been around a lot of great D-tackles," Slay said. "I've been around [Ndamukong] Suh, Haloti Ngata, Fletcher Cox himself, Javon Hargrave. I've been around a great group of guys that play D-tackle, man, and I'm trying to tell you: Jalen Carter, this kid is just very, very dominant, man. He's very physical, quicker than what you think, and stronger than how he looks."

In a recent interview on WIP Radio in Philadelphia, Cox added: "Just seeing how strong the guy is, the way that he moves, [he] probably should have been the No. 1 pick in the draft."

Jalen Carter among Emmanuel Acho's most impactful non-QB rookies

If the hype all seems like it's a little much … well, maybe it is considering that Carter has played just nine snaps in the Eagles' preseason games. He played just two snaps in the opening game in Baltimore, on Aug. 12. But he needed only one play to have the entire league talking about what he can do.

He got a quick start on that snap, making a move to his left. And before Ravens guard Ben Cleveland could recover, Carter had darted back to his right, gently shoved the 6-foot-6, 370-pounder out of the way with his right hand, then looked like he was shot out of a cannon toward Ravens quarterback Josh Johnson, who barely got off an awkward throw before Carter dragged him down.

Carter admitted that doing that on his first NFL play was "pretty awesome" and the world seemed to agree. To his teammates, though, it was nothing different from what they had seen from Carter before.

"He's a guy that if you're playing high, he'll get the best of you," Johnson said. "He plays very low. He's very strong and he's very quick — lateral quickness.

"He's made a lot of people look silly in camp so far."

49ers, Eagles top NFL skill-position rankings

Considering the quality of the Eagles' offensive line, that's quite a feat. And not surprisingly, the Eagles coaches are doing their best to try to downplay the hype Carter's play has created. Nick Sirianni praised him for "a good job so far" before noting that he hasn't played much in games yet. Defensive coordinator Sean Desai went only a little bit further, saying Carter "keeps growing and taking steady, incremental steps to keep growing and developing as a player and as a person."

Behind the scenes, though, the excitement the Eagles felt when they landed Carter on Draft Day has only grown in the four months since. The addition of Carter and edge rusher Nolan Smith — another Georgia Bulldog who shockingly fell to 30th overall, where the Eagles got him with their second first-round pick — has given their veteran defensive line a huge boost of youth and energy.

And those aren't even the Eagles' only additions. Defensive tackle Jordan Davis, their 2022 first-round pick (13th overall out of Georgia), is expected to see an increased role this season. And defensive end Derek Barnett, the 14th overall pick in 2017 who missed almost all of last season with a torn ACL, looks healthy and ready to contribute, too.

Carter, though, has shown signs that he might be the best of the bunch — a constant headache for opposing interior offensive lines. He will demand extra attention and, likely, extra blockers. Just imagine the conundrum of having to give an offensive line extra help with Carter while leaving players like Haason Reddick (16 sacks last season), Brandon Graham (11) and Josh Sweat (11) single-blocked on the outside.

"I'm talking about guys that go hunt," Slay said. "And they're not lions hunting; they're more like hyenas. There's going to be whole swarm of them. They're coming with a whole pack."

And that is exactly what the NFL was afraid of as the league watched Carter slide closer and closer to a new home in Philadelphia. It's more than just a case of the rich getting much richer. The Eagles got a baby rhino that can run with the hyenas, and that's going to turn opposing quarterbacks into easy prey.

"Man, I'm glad he fell to us, because I'd hate for [us] to have to go against that kid, because that kid is very special," Slay said. "He's got a chance to be amazing, man. He's got a great, great chance to be amazing."

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.

FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience