The Chicago Bears No. 9 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft proved to be such a hot commodity that the Philadelphia Eagles traded up to select Jalen Carter, despite reports of less-than-flattering reviews from his coaches at Georgia.
“Somebody from Chicago made [Eagles general manager] Howie Roseman think if you don’t do it somebody else will,” ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio said on Friday. “You better secure your spot for Jalen Carter because we’ve got someone else below you that wants to come up to No. 9 and take this guy and that’s what the Eagles had to do to ultimately cement him.”
The Bears only acquired this pick last month when they sent their No. 1 pick to the quarterback-needy Carolina Panthers in exchange for a treasure trove of picks and All-Rookie wide receiver D.J. Moore.
Carter, once in the conversation as a top overall pick, slipped all the way to ninth following several months of controversy and tragedy.
Hours after Georgia won their second-straight national championship, offensive lineman Devin Willock and team staff member Chandler LeCroy died in a car accident. An investigation later revealed Carter and LeCroy were racing two separate cars. She had a blood alcohol content of .197 "at the time of the crash" and her car reached a speed of 104 mph.
Carter pled no contest to misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing back in March, earning 12 months probation, a $1,000 fine and 80 hours of community service.
The accident and subsequent fallout cast a cloud over Carter's predraft evaluation with teams starting to question his character and decision making.
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The Georgia coaching staff reportedly did little to calm those concern and didn’t shower him with the typical praise expected of future top draft picks.
Florio cited NFL Network's Ian Rapoport who alluded to these reports and said there seems to be some truth to the invovlement -- or lack thereof -- of the Bulldogs' staff.
“The Georgia coaches are not happy with Jalen Carter and not afraid to say so and that is not a typical dynamic because usually you’re effusive about the guys that played for you but your own credibility is important,” Florio said.
He went on to characterize this as the “reddest of red flags.”
Despite these recent developments, Carter remained a top prospect for many teams looking to bolster their defense.
“He’s phenomenal,” Chris Simms said of Carter’s skillset “… He definitely the best interior D-lineman I've evaluated since I’ve been on this part of the business.”
Carter now joins a defensive unit that includes
“It’s just unbelievable what they’ve got,” Simms said. “Their backup defensive line starts for a few teams in football.”
Roseman used Philadelphia’s other first-round pick to select fellow Georgia linebacker Nolan Smith with the No. 30 pick.
Simms believes the Eagles might have picked the next Warren Sapp and Von Miller in Carter and Smith, respectively.
“Talking about the best roster in football and now they just made their defense the '90s Eagles and they’ve already got the '92 Cowboys offense,” Simms said of the reigning NFC champions who return much of their core that made it to the Super Bowl.
This past year the Eagles allowed the second-fewest total yards, with an average of 301.5 yards per game. They paired that with the third-best offense -- led by quarterback Jalen Hurts -- to post a 14-3 regular season record.
“The Eagles are stacked,” Florio added.
Roseman's choice to move up in the draft certainly suggests he's confident in Carter's fit with the Eagles.
“The Eagles are one of those few teams that we kinda pointed out in the top 10 that make sense for Jalen Carter and maybe the best as far as a support system,” Simms said.
He particularly pointed to Jordan Davis, a former teammate of Carters at Georgia, Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham, as positive influences of up-and-coming stars, the latter two he described as the “ultimate pro.”
“I better game on my game or I'm not going to be playing. I'm gonna be on the bench,” Simms said, speculating on Carter’s mentality entering the locker room in Philadelphia.
To add to Roseman's case, Simms compared the question marks of Carter's predraft process to a Louisville quarterback back in 2018 -- Lamar Jackson.
The 2019 NFL MVP was the fifth quarterback drafted that year, taken by the Baltimore Ravens with the last pick in the first round. While his talent was undeniable, there were many who doubted how his game would convert to the NFL. Six years later and the 26-year-old has more than proved his worth, inking a deal earlier this week that made him the highest-paid player this upcoming season.
To Simms, Carter's talent explains many of the character question marks.
"I’m that good and I know when I need to turn it on," he said of his mentality.