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Jalen Carter might just be the Philadelphia Eagles' best defensive player.
Yes, the team has an overflow of young, exciting talent at all three levels of the defense, plus a few exciting veteran players who have helped to even out the highs and lows of a 17-game season, but through just 28 games of action, Carter has been on fire, amassing 10.5 sacks, 21 QB hits, 67 total tackles, and a fumble returned for a touchdown. Carter has become so good so quickly that opposing teams are now double-teaming him on the regular, something an Eagles defensive tackle hasn't experienced since prime Fletcher Cox. But all that has done is open up opportunities for other players to get production, with Nolan Smith, Milton Williams, and blitzing linebackers all earning easier rushes because of Carter's gravity.
Goodness, considering how impressively Carter has played, you'd think Nick Sirianni would be having visions of all-time great tackles he's played in the past, from Aaron Donald, to Chris Jones, and even Dexter Lawrence, who the Eagles just played last month, right? Well, Sirianni was asked that very question during his first media session post-Week 13 and had an interesting answer regarding Carter's on-field impact versus other players.
Jalen Carter is a unique challenge for Eagles' opponents
Asked how he would compare and contrast Carter's on-field production to players like Donald, Jones, and Lawrence, Sirianni refused to actually make a player comp, which likely would have broken the Eagles' social media with debates for days. He did, however, compare his on-field impact to those players, who would all have to be game-planned for heading into the week.
“He did a lot of good things yesterday. A lot of things that we need to clean up. That's all of us as a team. [There are] lot of good things we did and a lot of things we need to clean up. [DT] Jalen [Carter] is a part of that, but [he] definitely did a lot of good things. I don't get into the comparison thing with him. Jalen Carter is Jalen Carter. And we're happy he's on this football team and [that] he's playing the way he's playing with the effort, and the toughness, and the skill that he's playing with,” Sirianni told reporters.
“[It's] different when you go, and you're actually game-planning against a guy, and any play that that guy makes, you'll have to think about. We obviously don't do that with Jalen because we don't have to game plan against him. I stay away from the comparison. Jalen Carter has had a really good year, had a really good game yesterday, and we're looking for him to continue to grow as a player.”
On paper, comparing Carter to Jones or Lawrence is kind of weird, as one weighs under 300 pounds and the other weighs over 340 pounds, but Jones? That's an interesting comp, indeed. Still, in a way, Sirianni is correct in that, in the end, every player is their own person, with comps often overlooking the intangibles that can make one player punch above their weight class and others fail to live up to expectations. If Carter can keep his head down and keep improving week in and week out, as Sirianni suggested, his ceiling really is on the same level as those Hall of Fame-caliber talents.
