Jalen Carter's self assessment is exactly what Eagles fans needed to hear

USA Today

6 hours ago

Jalen Carter's self assessment is exactly what Eagles fans needed to hear Jalen Carter offers an honest and self-aware assessment of where he is on the elite tier.
Here's where forgiveness is asked for immediately. Some of what you're about to read will upset you, but Jalen Carter is good. He's doggone good, so here's where a rule is broken, comparing youngsters to some of the greatest Philadelphia Eagles of all time.
Jalen brings back memories of Jerome Brown. Yes, that's the road we're traveling. You were warned. It's going to be that type of story.
Carter brings back memories of Fletcher Cox in his prime. It's much too early to bring up Reggie White's name, but if Jalen stays on the current path, we may do so one day. Might we one day discuss both and bring up some similarities?
Now, that's bold. Believe it or not, you may be able to find some who agree, but here's a question. How does Jalen Carter describe himself?
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Jalen Carter's self-assessment is a mature one
Though we've long placed these theories in our rearview mirror, Jalen Carter's path to the Eagles can't be discussed without bringing up the questions that arose about his maturity. Dom DiSandro did the work and gave the former Georgia Bulldogs star a passing grade, so even though some teams steered clear, Philly rolled the dice.
The Birds made Carter the ninth player taken during the 2023 NFL Draft. With two seasons in the books, we can confirm that was a wise decision.
Carter has demonstrated the maturity most hoped he would. Sure, there have been a few hiccups here and there, but we have to remember he's still growing up. He's made some mistakes, some worse than others, but he has tried to atone for them.
He certainly isn't the monster some made him out to be, and though he's proven he can play at an elite level in this game, he acknowledges he still has work to do.
'I know who's good and I know who everybody loves. Dexter Lawrence, Chris Jones. All of them. I see it, but at the end of the day, I'm still grinding and just doing my own thing. If my name pops up, then I guess congratulations to me. Just keep going.'
Those were the words of one Jalen Carter at Eagles OTAs (via NBC Sports Philadelphia's Dave Zangaro). Philadelphia's young star continued with his thought with a welcome theory.
'This is what I wanted to do. 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.'
Again, things seem to be going well.
Carter has already helped Philadelphia win its second Vince Lombardi Trophy. Arguments can be made that, had he not sacked Matt Stafford at the end of the Divisional Round Game, we probably wouldn't be discussing another Super Bowl win.
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He earned a spot on the 2023 Pro Football Writers Association's All-Rookie Team. He earned Second-Team All-Pro honors and a Pro Bowl nod to punctuate a brilliant sophomore campaign in 2024.
The best part about all of this is that he is still only scratching the surface of how good he can be. You just read his take in his own words.
Birds fans can rest easy. Enjoy the show because there isn't an opposing offensive coordinator on Philadelphia's 2025-26 regular-season schedule who will enjoy a sound night's sleep on the eve of their game vs. the Eagles.