After just one season in the league, Philadelphia Eagles star defensive lineman Jalen Carter has a heavy presence in rankings.
No wonder—the ninth overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft put up some incredible numbers and even better looking film.
The stunning debut already has Carter ranked as the No. 41 overall player in the NFL on the top 50 list from Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus, with the writeup name-dropping Aaron Donald and noting that the Georgia product could end up at the very top of the list eventually:
For the first several weeks of the 2023 season — his rookie season — Jalen Carter was grading and producing like future Hall-of-Famer Aaron Donald. That level was perhaps inevitably unsustainable, but even so, he finished his debut season with an 89.0 PFF overall grade, ranking fifth in the NFL. Carter has the talent to be at the very top of this list. Only players like Donald have showcased that kind of instant impact at the position over the past decade or so.
Carter played less than 50 percent of the defensive snaps during the first half of his rookie season, yet he put together outright dominance on film.
Meaning, he’s more than deserving of being the only rookie to land on the top 50 and while the Donald comparisons have set some wild expectations, Carter clearly has the talent to possibly match them.