The Philadelphia Eagles lost their 2023 preseason opener to the Baltimore Ravens by a score of 20-19. But they came away from the game very happy after seeing what first-round pick Jalen Carter can do.

On his first snap — one of just two that he would play throughout the entire game as the Eagles opted to rest a lot of key players — Carter rushed Ravens backup quarterback Josh Johnson, forcing him to get rid of the ball. Carter said that he had been ready for that moment for his whole life and is excited to get the chance to disrupt more plays, according to Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

“First play of my NFL season, getting to the quarterback,” Carter said, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “I thought that was pretty awesome. I plan on doing that more…I was just making sure I at least wrapped him up because he did try to run off. I got his legs but I looked up and saw the ball was gone and I was like, ‘Dang.’”

The Eagles drafted Carter with the ninth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, trading up a spot to land him. The Georgia standout's unreal talent was overshadowed leading up to the draft by his involvement in a fatal car crash that led to his arrest but will not send him to jail. Philadelphia bet on him and the results have been very good so far, even if they mostly amount to practice performance and one eye-opening rep during a preseason game.

Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni wants Carter to remain locked in, saying after the game that he still has yet to get a taste of real NFL action. But the rookie lineman is still looking good in practice.

“He is working hard every day, and he’s had some really nice plays,” Sirianni said, via NBC Sports Philadelphia. “He’s very talented, and he’s just got to keep working. He still has yet to make a play in the NFL, so he’s just got to put his head down and work. But he’s put some nice practices back-to-back – back-to-back-to-back, actually, so he's just got put his head down and keep working.”

Jalen Carter has eyes for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award in his first campaign with the Eagles. He has the potential to amount to so much more as Philly prepares him to be the anchor of its defense for the future.