Why Jalen Carter has a hunch the Eagles are going to draft him

[time2rock]

Why Jalen Carter has a hunch the Eagles are going to draft him

 

 

 

Reuben Frank

EAGLES INSIDER

It was only three words, but they were three very intriguing words.

NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark asked Georgia superstar defensive tackle Wednesday if he thinks the Eagles will select him Thursday:

"I believe so," he said.

Jalen Carter and several other probably top-10 draft picks were at Central High School in Kansas City Wednesday for a football clinic with area youths, and Carter took some time to speak with Clark about the Eagles’ interest in him.

And his interest in the Eagles.

Carter, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound defensive tackle, only took a handful of pre-draft visits, but he was at the NovaCare either in late March or early April and left with only positive vibes.

"It was very good,” he said. "I like the scenery. I like the coach of the d-line, the G.M. I love everybody. The head coach, too. A very cool guy.”

The big question with Carter isn’t his ability – it’s off the charts. But he was charged with reckless driving following an incident in Athens in January in which a teammate and a Georgia recruiting staffer in another vehicle were killed, and it’s a safe bet that a lot of the conversations Carter had with the Eagles at the NovaCare Complex involved that incident and his character.

"It wasn’t really what I took out of it, it was really the coaches getting to know my personality and know the guy that I am,” he said. "I feel like they took a lot out of the meeting just getting to know me and stuff like that.”

Imagine Carter lining up next to Jordan Davis in the thick of the Eagles’ defensive line?

Carter has certainly imagined it.

"It would be crazy,” he said Wednesday. "Jordan is one of my role models. He's one of the guys who got me to Georgia and, you know, if I can get to the league and happen to get drafted by Philly and play with him, it would be awesome.”

Carter and Davis were teammates on Georgia’s top-ranked defense, which led the Bulldogs to the 2021 national championship team.

The Eagles made Davis the 13th pick in last year’s draft, and it wouldn’t surprise anybody if they select Carter on Thursday either at No. 10 or with a trade up.

"I feel like he just taught me how to be a man,” Carter said of Davis. "Take things serious. He just taught me a lot about football, too.”

The Eagles are the first team with a top-10 pick coming off a Super Bowl season in 31 years, since the Washington Football Team had the fourth pick in 1992. They selected Desmond Howard, who was never much of a receiver but was an elite punt returner and Super Bowl MVP with the Packers in 1996.

"I know, that’s crazy, that really surprised me,” he said. "It would be crazy (coming to the Eagles). And then they got Nakobe Dean, too. He was one of the leaders of the 2021 group and I look up to that guy a lot. So just having him and Jordan Davis, that would be crazy.”

What should Eagles fans expect from Dean next year as he presumably enters the starting lineup?

"They should expect the best,” he said. "You know, he put in so much work. I was just proud of him seeing what he did for Georgia and it really motivated me to get where I am.”

In 2021, Georgia set a BCS / Division 1 modern-day record by allowing just 6.9 points per game. The Eagles already have two starters from that defense.

Imagine if they got a third?

"It would be awesome if they got me,” Carter said with a big smile.

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/why-georgia-star-jalen-carter-has-hunch-eagles-are-going-draft-him?fbclid=IwAR3K2gse6LF8xoER15RG34mPX1zr9EYjw8QtQDhESO_zhpZzuCCYQe4WuH4

[UK_EaglesFan89]

Well his hunch was right.