Eagles WATCH: DT Jalen Carter in Shape During Drills?

From the looks of some tweets being sent out by the Philadelphia Eagles, first-round, rookie defensive tackle Jalen Carter looks like he is in shape

Jalen Carter may be ready to show that he has checked a box regarding at least one of a couple of red flags that emerged during the talented Georgia defensive tackle’s pre-draft process.

That box is conditioning.

A lot was made about it during the Philadelphia Eagles rookie camp in early May.

Drafted ninth overall by the Philadelphia Eagles at the end of April, Carter is trying to put to rest the notion that what you saw of him during his March pro day in Athens, Ga. isn’t what you will see once OTAs fold into training camp and then the regular season.

Even the Eagles seem intent on showing that Carter isn’t the overweight college prospect who was unable to finish his conditioning drills by tweeting out clips of him on Thursday working hard during drills at the team’s NovaCare complex.

The clips of Carter look promising.

Is it week 1 yet? #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/bamnuqtTJK

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) May 25, 2023

OTAs will officially begin on Tuesday and there will be a few of those that will be open to media, and you can bet that plenty of eyes will be on the rookie.

Carter could very well find himself in the starting lineup with Fletcher Cox and Jordan Davis in 3-4 looks. Even 4-3 defensive fronts could see Carter, who is 6-3, 314-pounds, getting premium snaps.

A big part of how much he plays will be based on his conditioning.

“So, as long as he does things right, as long he goes about it the right way, as long as he dedicates himself, as long as he becomes a professional, he has the chance to have a life-changing career in the NFL,” Eagles center Jason Kelce said earlier this month. 

Philly coach Nick Sirianni was asked about Carter’s conditioning leading into the rookie camp, but he said that nobody, Carter included, was in shape, yet, especially coming off a grueling pre-draft process that saw prospects flying all over the country, attending the NFL Scouting Combine and interviewing with teams at the facilities, all the while sleeping in hotel rooms and not always eating food of high nutritional value.

“Today was not about finding out what their conditioning level was," Sirianni said on May 5. “Today was about going out there and my coaching points to our coaches were, listen, their bodies are not ready to play yet. This is all about protecting the players while still getting ready to play.”

Another of Carter’s red flags hasn’t been on display, either.

That one, of course, is his well-publicized off-the-field issues, though he hasn’t been a professional for very long, so that’s a long-range, must-watch.

Again, Kelce stood up for the recently-turned 22-year-old Carter.

“He’s been a great kid in his interactions with me,” Kelce said. “He’s looked me in the eye. I feel a lot of these guys who have character concerns, I’m more concerned with guys who think they’re too good. I didn’t get that vibe with him when I met with him. He’s looking up, he’s looking straight at you.”

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Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.

Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.

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