Eagles 23-Year-Old Superstar 'Sleeper' For Major Award

Will the Eagles young star pick up some serious hardware this season?

Dec 8, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter (98) lines up for a play against the Carolina Panthers at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Eagles have built one of the best defenses in football and one of their key pieces should dominate for years to come.

Philadelphia selected Jalen Carter with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2023 National Football League Draft. He finished second in the National Football League Defensive Rookie of the Year Award voting in 2023 and has followed it up with an even better campaign this year.

He has become a dominant fixture in the Eagles' defense. Philadelphia has the best defense in football and Carter arguably already is the best player on the defense. So far this season, he has logged 4.5 sacks, five passes defended, one forced fumble, 39 total tackles, and 15 quarterback hits. There has been a lot of chatter this season too about Carter being consistently double-teamed and held all season to this point.

Carter has dominated for the Eagles so far this season and ESPN's Dan Graziano said that Carter is his "favorite sleeper" to win the National Football League Defensive Player of the Year Award.

"My favorite sleeper whose name is starting to come up among the top defensive players in the league is the Eagles' Jalen Carter," Graziano said. "It's probably too soon for him to win it this season, but I wouldn't be surprised if he became a fixture in these discussions in future seasons, maybe as early as next year."

Graziano noted that Carter may not win the award this year, but it's nice that he's already getting some national buzz for the league's biggest awards. The Eagles certainly made the right choice bringing Carter to town.

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