The special ability is obvious, and here is the thing about Jalen Carter and his career projection: The best is ahead of him.
A two-time Pro Bowl selection, an All-Pro in 2024, and a key contributor to the Eagles' Super Bowl LIX victory, Jalen Carter now has contractual security as he enters his fourth season.
And the Eagles have a game-changing force locked up, as the team and Carter agreed to terms on a new four-year contract extension through the 2031 season as the players reported on Tuesday for the start of Training Camp.
The ninth selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, Carter quickly asserted himself in the league as a player with too much power, quickness, technique, and football IQ to block one-on-one. He is consistently double- and triple-teamed, but that doesn't stop Carter from impacting the game on nearly every snap.
"I have the mindset," Carter says, "that nobody can outdo me."
He's got the right approach, that's for sure.
The Eagles made signing Carter to a long-term deal a priority entering this 2026 season. Philadelphia has long believed in building its team from the inside out, from the line of scrimmage to the outside. That approach also extends to the team's roster-building philosophy – draft well and reward your homegrown talent rather than always paying a premium on the free agent market. Having Carter as an anchor at 6-foot-3 and 314 pounds, as one of the best interior pass rushers in the NFL per Pro Football Focus, and a run-stuffing force, sets up the rest of the defense.
Offenses, for sure, keep No. 98 in focus when they game plan to play the Eagles.
"He's one of the most dominant players in the league, if not the most dominant that I've seen," former Washington Commanders Offensive Coordinator Kliff Kingsbury said late in the 2025 season. "He can wreck a game by himself. 98 is as good a player as there is in the NFL right now."
While the numbers – 121 quarterback pressures, 108 total tackles, 13.5 quarterback sacks, and 12 passes defensed – are strong, they really don't measure the way Carter's presence changes the game.
"He disrupts the game, he's smart, and he plays hard," Eagles Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio said of Carter. "There aren't many like him out there and I'm glad he's on our side."
The transition from a National Championship team at the University of Georgia to the NFL was a smooth one for Carter, who played 48 percent of the defensive snaps as a rookie in 2023 and recorded six quarterback sacks (the most for an Eagles rookie since Derrick Burgess had six in 2001), 47 quarterback pressures, and nine quarterback hits, immediately establishing himself as a threat with his quickness and power off the snap of the football.
Carter's All-Pro and Pro Bowl performance in 2024 helped the Eagles lead the league in total defense as he led the team in quarterback pressures (45), quarterback hits (16), and tackles for loss (12).
In 2025, Carter earned a second Pro Bowl nod, appearing in 11 games with 33 total tackles, 29 pressures, 12 quarterback hits, seven passes defensed, four tackles for loss, and three quarterback sacks. His six batted passes tied with teammate Jordan Davis, who was also signed to a long-term extension this offseason, for second-most among NFL defensive tackles.
All of those numbers, all of those games he changed – great stuff. That was the first chapter in his NFL career. The second chapter, with a contract extension in place, is where the Eagles believe the best is yet to come.
