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The rich get richer, and the Philadelphia Eagles are quite rich.
GM Howie Roseman didn’t hesitate to take a risk and pursue Georgia DT Jalen Carter by trading up one spot to No. 9.
Carter was a seamless fit for the Eagles — or any NFL team, for what it’s worth — and some considered him the best prospect in this class.
This Jalen Carter-Roger Goodell handshake pic.twitter.com/Rbxc59t5SY
— ESPN (@espn) April 28, 2023
Nonetheless, questions about his work ethic after showing out of shape at his Pro Day, as well as his involvement in a fatal car crash, raised some questions about how his character.
Still, Roseman sent a fourth-round pick to move up and land Carter, citing that he was confident in his team’s ability to develop the young man’s skills, adding that they felt like Carter was truly in love with the game of football and comes with a long track record of being a winner:
More than that, he claimed that the Eagles’ staff is full of good people who’ll go to great lengths to make sure he stays on track:
“You just want to really get to know the person and what’s in their heart,” Roseman said, per Pro Football Talk. “When we got to know Jalen, we just felt like here’s a kid that does love football, obviously he’s a winner — he won in high school, he won in college — and we felt like we have really good people in this building: We have a really good support staff, we have really good players who are good people, we have really good coaches, and we felt like it was a good fit for us.”
Notably, Carter will join a couple of former national champion teammates from his Georgia Bulldogs days.
Nakobe Dean and Jordan Davis were already with the team, and they added Nolan Smith with the No. 30 pick to that mix, and that could also make a positive impact on Carter’s development.
The talent and physical traits are definitely there, so let’s hope he can stay focused and put in his best effort day in and day out now that he’s finally made it to the league.
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