Jalen Carter sits at the center of the Eagles’ top-five conversation for a reason: he might be the most gifted player on the roster, and he’s also coming off a season that didn’t match the hype around him.
Philadelphia Eagles On SI placed the fourth-year defensive tackle at No. 5 on its list of the 25 best players entering the 2026 season. The ranking reflects both the ceiling and the uncertainty. Carter earned top-10 spots on all three ballots in the staff vote, with Jeff Kerr putting him at No. 2, while John McMullen and Ed Kracz were less enthusiastic after last season’s dip, slotting him at No. 8 and No. 7, respectively.
The list was built by the Eagles on SI staff using a points system: players were ranked from one to 25, with first place worth one point, second worth two, and so on. A player who appeared in the top 25 but didn’t receive a vote from one of the three voters - Kerr, McMullen and Kracz - was assigned 30 points.
Carter’s situation goes beyond rankings. He is eligible for an extension, and after speculation that he could reset the market for interior defensive linemen this offseason, the Eagles have taken their time.
That has left the sides without a deal so far, and it also helped create a hold-in of sorts at mandatory minicamp, where Carter showed up but didn’t participate in team drills. Shoulder issues were part of the picture, too, so the team’s caution may not have been limited to contract matters.
The next checkpoint is close. With the Eagles’ first training camp practice set for July 29, Carter will be one of the biggest storylines unless a new deal gets done in the next 10 days.
His 2024 regression was tied largely to persistent shoulder pain. After a rough outing against Chicago in late November, he was shut down for a month.
At that point, Carter could barely lift weights because of the pain. He later received PRP injections in both shoulders, then returned to finish the year with appearances in Week 17 at Buffalo and in the playoff loss to San Francisco.
There are signs the offseason has gone better. Early indications point to rest and rehab helping his shoulders, and his camp has shared several videos of him training in South Jersey and moving heavy weight.
The contract picture now has a new marker, too. Tennessee’s Jeffery Simmons set the latest standard at defensive tackle with a three-year, $105.8 million deal that carries an average annual value of $35.27 million.
Even with the physical concerns, Carter’s profile still comes with other questions. ESPN’s annual survey of league executives, coaches and scouts kept him at No. 3 among defensive tackles, behind only Seattle’s Leonard Williams and Simmons. But one coordinator offered a harsher view, saying, "He flashes 10 times a game but gets dragged far too often by average players," the coordinator told ESPN.
The numbers from last season also back up the uneven picture. Pro Football Focus ranked Carter No. 80 among 127 interior defensive linemen, and his work against the run was even more troubling, coming in at No. 115 of 130. By comparison, his Eagles teammates Jordan Davis and Moro Ojomo were graded much higher, at No. 15 and No. 28, respectively.
That was a sharp drop from Carter’s first two seasons, when he ranked No. 6 of 130 in 2023 and No. 18 of 118 in 2024.
For now, the Eagles and Carter’s camp, led by agent Drew Rosenhaus, still have work to do. But the belief behind the rankings is clear: the league and the Eagles are betting that Carter is closer to the player he was early in his career than the one who struggled through last season.
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