PHILADELPHIA — Jalen Carter, in his final year at the University of Georgia, was involved in four traffic incidents in the span of five months.
The last one was a street-racing arrest after the car he was racing against crashed into multiple utility poles, downing one of them, and a line of trees, killing the driver, ejecting and killing the front passenger, and injuring two others in the car.
Carter was a unanimous All-American defensive tackle and fresh off of back-to-back national championships with the Bulldogs. He had been expected to go in the top three of the 2023 NFL Draft, until the arrest.
His draft stock plummeted, and suddenly he wasn’t even a lock for the top 10. But his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, started working his media contacts to increase positive buzz around Carter. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman was persuaded, also saying the club did its own research and evaluation, and selected Carter ninth overall.
Carter — who has remained mostly mum about that fatal incident, citing civil litigation — played 51 percent of the defensive snaps last season and finished runner-up for Defensive Rookie of the Year. In last week’s win over Washington, he played all 66 snaps, finishing with seven tackles and disrupting the Commanders up front all night.
“I think it shows you how good of shape he’s in,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said this week. “That’s cardio, that’s physical, that’s so many different things. That’s eating the right things and nutrition.
“Again, it wasn’t like 66 sloppy plays, right? He made an impact on that game. You guys saw it. And he hustled every single play. You have to be in phenomenal shape to be able to do that. I think as far as off the field, you really notice the time that he’s put into the weight room, put into his body. And it’s really showing up on Sundays.”
Carter has 29 tackles, including seven for a loss, and 3.5 sacks so far this season, playing 81 percent of the defensive snaps overall. And his success goes beyond his commitment to conditioning.
“He’s playing better with his hands, using his hands, and being a better technician,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “That’s translating into good play because of his talent. … He’s gotten better and better every week.”
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Before departing for the Week 5 bye, offensive linemen Lane Johnson, Jordan Mailata and Landon Dickerson stopped by Sirianni’s office and asked to chat. The coach, as usual, was amenable. They made their case for running the ball more, for more fully committing to an offense centered around Saquon Barkley.
“It’s a tribute to (Sirianni) and the culture we have here that we can have discussions like that,” Mailata said.
The conversation seemed to resonate with Sirianni. Before the bye, the Birds were running the ball 30 times per game; since then, it has been around 45. The team has developed an identity of running, playing good defense, and hitting some play-action strikes downfield — and has won six in a row.
Barkley, of course, has carried most of the load, with Kenny Gainwell spelling him. And even when the Eagles aren’t getting huge ground yardage in the first half, they’re sticking with the run anyway, and it’s paying off.
Barkley is averaging 4.2 yards per carry in the first half (not bad), but that average balloons to 7.2 in the second half, as defenses get worn down.
“I think our guys have a strong commitment to (running),” offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said. “They feel really confident that if we just keep getting after it, keep giving ourselves opportunities, eventually we’re going to steal something at the end.”
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Linebacker Zack Baun recorded a whopping 15 tackles to lead the Eagles against Washington. In fact, he has led the team in tackles in each of the past four weeks. He has 102 tackles so far this year, along with three forced fumbles and an interception. The 27-year-old former special-teams player, acquired as a free agent from New Orleans in the offseason, is on just a one-year deal worth $1.6 million.
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Sirianni consistently has said that two of the stats he values most are turnover margin and explosive plays. Over the last four weeks, the Eagles have a plus-8 turnover margin, the best in the league during that stretch. They also have the most 40-plus-yard plays (14) in the NFL this season, while the three they’ve surrendered are tied for the second fewest.
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Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc.
Source: Berkshire mont
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