Eagles Need Jalen Carter to Mature Quickly After Latest Incident

The Philadelphia Eagles need to build their defense around Jalen Carter but the second-year defensive tackle must prove he's worthy of that sentiment.

It’s no secret that the Philadelphia Eagles' defense needs to improve dramatically in the 2024 season.

Personnel tweaks will be made but the most significant part of the penciled-in plan has to be the development of the young players Howie Roseman has added over the past two seasons.

The 2022 Georgia contingent of Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean, along with the 2023 Bulldogs class of Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, and Kelee Ringo, all under the learning tree of new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio might be the key to it all.

Boil it down even further and the foundation of the whole plan all almost has to be built on the immense playmaking talent of Carter, the No. 9 overall pick in the 2023 draft and the runner-up for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year to Houston’s Will Anderson.

The Eagles not only want to build their defense around Carter’s rare skills, they need to.

Jalen Carter needs to mature quickly, :: Ed Kracz/SI Eagles Today

By now, most understand Carter would have been in the conversation to be the No. 1 overall pick last April had he not gotten in legal trouble for being involved in a drag-racing incident that resulted in the death of Georgia teammate Devin Willock and a Bulldogs staffer, Chandler LeCroy.

For the most part, Carter, who turns 23 on April 4, stayed out of trouble during his rookie season outside an alleged shoplifting incident at a self-checkout kiosk in which Carter grabbed a bag he thought had been paid for by the woman he was with, according to a police source.

In the end, it was a simple miscommunication that escalated further than it needed to when Carter objected to a security guard inquiring about the issue. The page was turned quickly, however.

But Carter committed another unforced error, this time more disturbing, in the wake of San Francisco’s overtime loss in the Super Bowl to Kansas City.

Niners’ offensive lineman Jon Feliciano was taking some heat for throwing teammate Spencer Burford under the bus for missing a block. Feliciano ultimately apologized, blaming the no-no on too many cocktails the night before.

Carter jumped into the mix uninvited by revealing that Feliciano used the death of Willock to trash-talk the young defensive tackle when the Niners routed the Eagles back on Dec. 3.

Feliciano didn’t deny the accusation but only upped the ante by alleging his untoward actions were in response to Carter threatening to kill him.

"Dude told me he was gonna murder me and my kids would never see me again 3x because I was laughing at him after getting a flag,” Feliciano wrote. “… I said I believe you, you got a body. Then he continued for weeks posting my fam n reachin' out to my friends.''

Feliciano also posted a screenshot of Carter tagging him in an Instagram story with a picture of the O-Lineman and his kids, and noted that he reported the incident to the NFL.

Jalen Carter Responds to Death Threat Accusations: 'I Can't Beat That!'

The toxicity of social media is hardly a secret to any public figure and Carter needs to understand he’s got far more to lose in these types of situations.

If goodness is man’s struggle, trolling on social media seems to be human nature for this generation.

Carter arrived in the NFL down 0-1 in the count and needs to understand the old-school agitator-types playing mind games like Feliciano understand that and aren't going away.

It might not be fair to demand maturity from someone as young as Carter but with generational talent comes the expectation of responsibility.

And, if you plan on living up to the gifts, it’s a good idea to stay out of the mud.