Was Eagles’ Jalen Carter in better shape at rookie camp?
Did Carter show up in better shape at Eagles’ rookie camp? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
It raised a red flag when defensive tackle Jalen Carter showed up to his pro day in mid-March nine pounds heavier than he was at the Combine and struggled to finish position drills.
Did Carter show up to Eagles rookie camp in better shape?
He said he did.
“Oh yeah, for sure,” the first-round pick said on Friday. “I made sure my conditioning level is a lot higher.”
Was it really? Pretty hard to tell from a very light practice as the Eagles kicked off rookie camp on Friday afternoon at the NovaCare Complex.
When asked about Carter’s conditioning level, Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni spoke instead about the entire group of rookies. He said none of them are in condition to play a game right now and that’s not what this camp is about.
“I think what you’ll see when we’re going out there is that we’re trying to get everybody back into shape, football-playing shape,” Sirianni said. “These guys have been in hotels, they’ve been on (pre-draft) 30 visits, they’ve been getting ready for pro days, they’ve been getting ready for the Combine. So to say any of them are in really good football shape and they’re ready to play a game tomorrow, I would say that’s inaccurate. None of those guys are.”
That might be true.
But none of those other guys publicly bombed their pro day workout a month and a half ago.
“It was just me,” Carter said the night he was drafted, when asked about his performance in Georgia’s pro day. “I felt conditioned but I guess I wasn't, and that was just me. I should have conditioned a little bit more or a lot more before the pro day.”
Of course, you can explain away the weight gain and the poor performance by remembering that Carter was arrested about two weeks before that pro day and eventually plead no contest on two misdemeanor charges related to a fatal crash in January. It was a tumultuous and stressful time in his life.
News of Carter’s impending arrest broke while he was in Indianapolis at the Combine, so the only time he worked out with a big audience during the pre-draft process was at his pro day. And it didn’t go well.
For what it’s worth, Sirianni said he’s not concerned about Carter’s conditioning. When asked about his level of concern on Friday, the Eagles’ head coach responded, “None.”
But this will be something worth monitoring during the early portion of Carter’s career. The Eagles invested a lot to land Carter with the No. 9 overall pick and they’ll hold him to a high standard.
“I told them straight up … we obviously went over our rules, right, our team rules,” Sirianni said. “And one of those team rules is be on time and another one of those rules is be the weight you're supposed to be. And those are non-negotiable for me, and they know that and we'll just keep that standard as we go.
“But yeah, I sense that he wants to be the best pro he can be, and not every place — again, I don't know exactly. I have no idea what each program says the person's supposed to weigh, right, or sometimes, programs, even within the NFL don't track that or they track it, but they don't say, you have to weigh this amount. We do.
“So that's just new to here. We will get him to what he's supposed to play at, and I have no doubt in my mind he'll do whatever he needs to do to be the player he needs to be.”
Carter, 22, was considered one of the top overall prospects in this year’s draft class and the Eagles know he probably wouldn’t have been available that late had it not been for some off-field and maturity concerns. But the Eagles did their homework and were comfortable enough to take Carter.
The reward could definitely be worth the risk. Because Carter has a legitimate All-Pro ceiling in the NFL and in Philly he’ll be learning the way from veteran teammates like Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham and others.
The veterans will be back in the building starting Monday after the conclusion of rookie camp but the whole team won’t practice together until May 30, when voluntary OTAs begin.
Friday’s practice was extremely light by designed, but Sirianni did offer this about Carter:
“He looks good,” Sirianni said. “He looked good out there today. But, like I said, today wasn’t about finding out who was ready conditioning-wise because, quite frankly, none of them are.”
When training camp begins in late-July or August, those rookies better be in shape. Especially Carter. All eyes will be on him.
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