Eagles’ Jalen Carter opens up about burning desire to join NFL’s elite

Jalen Carter is one of the best pass rushers in the NFL… even if, according to Philadelphia Eagles legend Jeremiah Trotter Sr., he doesn't really know what he's doing.

Now, to some, that assertion isn't giving Carter enough credit, as he is a dominant force who practically needs to be double-teamed on every single play he's on the field, but what happens when he expands out his move set even further and becomes a technician in the trenches?

Discussing his development ahead of his third professional season, Carter told NBC Sports Philadelphia's Dave Zangaro that he understands what he needs to do in order to become great and plans to work hard to get there, too.

“I know who's good and I know who everybody loves,” Carter told NBC Sports Philadelphia. “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.

“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.”

Statistically speaking, Carter's numbers weren't that much better in his second season versus his rookie campaign, recording just nine more tackles, seven more QB hits, and 1.5 fewer sacks over 268 more defensive snaps.

And yet, watching back any Eagles game, the first player the eye is drawn to on defense is No. 98, as that's where the eyes of opposing quarterbacks and offensive coordinators are drawn to. Carter easily led the Eagles' lineup in double-teams, had protections shaded his way time after time, and still found ways to collapse the pocket in order to set up sacks and pressures for himself and his teammates. Give him a little more technical polish, and who knows, Philadelphia might just have their next defensive centerpiece for the next decade-plus, if they don't already.