When it comes to interior defensive linemen in the last 20 years, the bar is set so high that Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter might not ever be able to reach it.
That doesn’t mean it won’t be fun to watch him try, and Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski put Carter on a list of 5 NFL players who might be able to dethrone Denver Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II as NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2025.
Carter would be just the second defensive tackle to win the award in the last 25 years. Former Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald won the award 3 times.
It would also make Carter just the second player in Eagles history to win the award following the late Reggie White, who won in 1987.
In 2024, in his second season, Carter earned NFL All-Pro honors for the first time and was the best player on a defense that rolled to a blowout win over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX.
Carter was selected by the Eagles with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft.
“In a world once dominated by Aaron Donald, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Carter is the closest thing to the retired three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year,” Sobleski wrote on June 1. ” … Carter is on the precipice … his explosiveness and movement skills for a 314-pound athlete are rare. They’ve been evident since before he even became a starter for an elite Georgia Bulldogs defense. Those traits have translated, and they’ll be on full display this fall when Carter transitions to the focal point of the Eagles defensive front.”
Oddsmakers: Wide Open Race For Defensive POY
, there is no clear favorite for NFL Defensive POY. There are 4 edge rushers in a pack and all with similar odds — Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson, Cleveland’s Myles Garrett, Dallas’ Micah Parsons and Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt.
Carter (+1800 from Bet MGM) is the only outlier in the Top 10 favorites, and just one spot ahead of Surtain, who signed a 4-year, $96 million contract extension before last season.
In terms of where they’re at in their careers, Carter is on a pretty similar path to Donald, who didn’t win his first Defensive POY award until his fourth season in 2017. That year, he did so in just 14 games with 41 tackles, 11.0 sacks, 15 TFL and 27 QB hits.
Donald won again in 2018 by putting together one of the most dominant seasons for a defensive player in NFL history with 59 tackles, 20.5 sacks, 25 TFL, 41 QB hits and 4 forced fumbles.
, Carter had 42 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 12 TFL, 16 QB hits, 2 forced fumbles and 6 pass deflections.
Eagles DC Fangio: Carter Can Still ‘Improve A Lot’
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio
believes his young protege is just starting to scratch the surface when it comes to his potential.
“The good news about Jalen is twofold,” Fangio said on June 3. “One, he played very well for us last year, and two, he can still improve a lot.”
One of the big stories for the Eagles next offseason will be Carter’s contract extension. Were Carter and the Eagles to win another Super Bowl or were he to win Defensive POY — or both — it would likely result in him becoming the highest paid defensive player in NFL history.
