Jalen Carter Didn’t Deserve the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

After the first half of the 2023 season, Jalen Carter looked like a lock for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. The hype surrounding the 9th-overall pick skyrocketed.

The former standout for the Georgia Bulldogs finished his first five NFL games with 3.5 sacks, four tackles for loss (TFL), and two forced fumbles. It appeared the Eagles had somehow drafted a rookie game-wrecker after a Super Bowl appearance.

Will Anderson took home the hardware instead. He improved steadily throughout the season, and he recorded four sacks and nine quarterback hits in his final four regular-season games.

The missed opportunity for a league award doesn’t define Carter. However, it should tell Eagles fans just how underwhelming Carter’s performance was down the stretch in 2023.

Carter recorded just 2.5 sacks and four TFLs in his final 11 games after the hot start. 

His entire body of work in his first NFL season looks fairly impressive. He finished third in sacks, third in TFLs, and fourth in quarterback hits on a team with big names across their defensive line. Carter still finished second in voting for the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. However, scrutiny of the timeline is necessary to understand the deeper context of his rookie season.

Early in the season, Carter looked poised to establish himself as an immediate star in the NFL. Barrett Brooks spoke on 97.5 The Fanatic when the Eagles were 5-0. He lauded the rookie for playing like a savvy veteran handling the game plans that offensive coordinators threw at him.

It seemed like he would follow the blueprint of Fletcher Cox, who emerged as Philadelphia’s top defensive tackle by the end of his rookie season in 2012 despite accomplished veterans on the roster. The presence of Cox also looked like it was helping Carter and teammate Jordan Davis grow as NFL players who could responsibly handle their conditioning and diets. 

The notion of a rookie wall might sound like a reasonable way to analyze a player adjusting to the NFL. However, the circumstances early in the season certainly didn’t seem like they were aligning for Jalen Carter to hit a rookie wall.

Carter offered very little impact while the Philadelphia defense went down in flames late in 2023. The Eagles could’ve used a spark from their younger standout players at the end of the season. Instead, aging franchise heroes like Cox and Brandon Graham were the ones making plays in the NFC Wild Card Round.

Carter and the other young players offered little solution after the promotion of Matt Patricia as the primary decision-maker on defense. The Eagles slipped to a 29th-overall finish in defensive DVOA.

Their run defense looked like a strength as a top-ranked unit early in the season thanks to Carter and Davis. They slipped to a 23rd-overall finish. The embarrassment peaked when the lowly Arizona Cardinals gashed the Eagles with 221 yards on the ground in Week 17.

A player who looked like he had the DROY wrapped up early in the season was suddenly nowhere to be found.

The Philadelphia defense has a fresh start with Vic Fangio, who the Eagles consider a premium choice as an NFL defensive coordinator.

Fangio should use a lot of 3-4 packages featuring an athletic tackle like Carter on the outside of a three-man front and outside linebackers rushing the passer beside him. His value will increase if he's also able to eat up double-teams to help the run defense.

The Eagles heavily prioritize pass rushers on the interior. They’ve spent premium picks on Carter, Davis, and Milton Williams in three consecutive drafts. The priority aligns with Fangio’s goals on defense. The new scheme could benefit Carter for a more impactful breakout season in 2024.

Some people might point to the rookie wall, but Carter left plenty of meat on the bone during his rookie season. If he can’t reach a new level with Fangio in charge, there will be no excuses next season.

One of the primary reasons the Eagles' defense was so bad last season was their secondary. Darius Slay still played at a somewhat high level. But the rest of the secondary had major issues. James Bradberry fell off the side of a cliff. Avonte Maddox missed most of the season and struggled when he got back. And the rest of the cornerbacks didn't fare much better.

It is something we should have foresaw when the Eagles brought back two corners in their 30s on new contracts. The secondary was great in 2022. But hindsight tells us they should have gotten younger at a corner.

The problem is they have taken 2 cornerbacks in the first 3 rounds since 2017. Sidney Jones and Rasul Douglass. They drafted both in 2017. They have had chances. There have been good cornerbacks on the board for them. But they always went another way. And in some cases, the guy they drafted instead worked out really well. Looking back, taking Landon Dickerson over Asante Samuel Jr was probably for the best.

But after this season, they flat out need to get younger, and more importantly better, at corner. They can't come back next season with two aging starters, and a bunch of lottery tickets. We already took a look at some younger Corners they could target in free agency, but perhaps the better place to go shopping would be in this year's draft.

It is not a bad season to need a cornerback in the draft. Most sites have at least 5 corners ranked in their top 32 prospects for the 2024 draft. So let's take a look at some of the Eagles' options.

This draft lacks a unanimous top corner like we saw last year with Devon Witherspoon, or the year before with Derek Stingley Jr. Go to any of the draft sites, and there will be disagreement over who the top corner is. But Nate Wiggins has a strong case for it being him. He has the makeup of an elite corner. He is long, rangy, and versatile enough to fit any scheme. He is not the most physical tackler and sometimes gets beat by trying to make a big play. But you watch him play, and he just looks like an NFL corner.

Will he be there? It is hard to say at this point. Some people have him going around the 10th pick. Others have him falling to the 2nd round. With things being so even between the top cornerback prospects, it is very hard to tell who will, and will not be on the board when the Eagles pick at 22. But he is a name to consider if he does fall to 22.

Another corner in the running for best in the draft is Cooper DeJean. He is big for a corner, and fast. He also has the versatility to play cornerback and safety. Both of which are major needs for the Eagles. So whatever position he lands at, the Eagles could use him. And playing in the BIG 10, he has had a chance to cover some very good corners and held his own. Including Marvin Harrison Jr.

Mock drafts have him going anywhere from 11 to 27. So there is a chance he will still be there at 22.

Even though Arnold is still somewhat new to the CB position, he excelled there at Bama last season. 5 interceptions. 12 pass breakups, and he held QBs to a Rating of just 52.5 when targeting him. And his history as a Safety means he is not afraid to make a tackle either. He hits hard and wraps up. Eagles fans have seen corners whiff on tackles a ton over the past decade, but that shouldn't ever be a recurring issue with Arnold.

The exciting thing about him is that because he is so new to playing CB, he can still get better. He is technically still learning and is already playing at a high level. He is playing with great technique at CB already. Imagine what even more experience will do for him.

Arnold is not the only cornerback in the draft class from Bama. He shared the field with the guy who has the coolest name in this year's draft. Kool-Aid McKinstry. Not only is he a great corner, 16 defended passes last year, but he is also a leader. Watch the tape from Bama, and you will see him constantly communicating with his teammates, calling out plays, and making sure guys are in the right spot. His football IQ is through the roof, to go with a great skill set.

Like the other corners we have already talked about, the mock drafts have him all over the place. But a lot of them do have Kool-Aid ending up in Midnight Green. And if Howie finally gets over his thing for drafting cornerbacks in the first round, Philly would be a great landing spot for him.

Why not continue to add to the Eagles' collection of former Georgia players? It does not get more lockdown in college football than Lassiter was this past season. he gave up just 138 total yards in the 2023 season. Some scouts are concerned he is not enough of an athlete to keep this up at the NFL level. Some think he is a bit too lean. But there were similar knocks on Devon Witherspoon, and he was tremendous in his rookie season. Lassiter shut down SEC WRS. That has to stand for something.

Most people have him going somewhere between picks 20 and 32. If the Eagles want him, he should be there.

In terms of production, Mitchell looks like a future star. In 2023, he had 14 pass breakups and held QBs to a rating of 49 when targeting him. The issue will be the competition he played against. We can look at the other guys on this list and say they played against NFL Caliber WRs. Can we say that about the Mid-Amercian Conference (MAC)?

Christian Gonzalez got similar complaints last year and played at a high level. But the stats don't lie, and a lot of the best NFL Corners, come from the top NCAA conferences. That's not to say Mitchell won't be great. The fact that he is a freak athlete certainly helps the argument that he could buck that trend. It is just a bigger gamble than taking a corner from the SEC or Big 10.