Pro Bowl Stunner: Eagles Defender Steals Spotlight, Edges Fletcher Cox for Pro Bowl Honors

It wasn’t until Year 3 of his possible Hall of Fame career that Fletcher Cox made his first Pro Bowl. Jalen Carter did it in two. The defensive tackle stepped up big time after Cox retired following last season, leading a defense that is ranked first in the league heading into the final weekend of the regular season.

“Don’t forget we miss Fletch, but at the end of the day we have to move on,” said Carter. “There’s people that come in every day, every week, and we’ve been adjusting.”

Carter was last year’s runner-up for defensive rookie of the year. This year, he has been even better. He has more tackles (42), solo tackles (20), tackles for loss (12), and quarterback hits (16). His snap counts also went up. Way up. Carter played 563 (51 percent) as a rookie and 831 (84 percent) in his second season. He has six batted passes at the line of scrimmage after not getting any last year.

The only area that did not improve was sacks, where he had six last year compared to 4.5 this season. His hard work up front, though, opened sack opportunities for others.

His heavy workload will likely land him a seat on the bench in the regular-season finale against the New York Giants.

“It’s just beginning,” Carter said of the impact he is capable of making on a weekly basis. “As I say, I’m not perfect in anything I do right now. I still have a lot of stuff to work on. That’s just gonna come with the years of experience gathered up while I’m still here playing in the league.”

Carter is just 23. He should gather plenty of experience, Pro Bowls, and All-Pro selections in the years ahead.

Cox made six Pro Bowls in a row starting in 2015 and was a second-team All-Pro three times. He is considered one of the best, if not the very best, defensive tackle in team history. Carter may end up with that distinction. At the very least, is helping put to rest the notion that Howie Roseman can’t draft defense. At the very least, Carter is helping put to rest the notion that Howie Roseman can’t draft defense.

Cox came in 2012 and was the only player drafted with Roseman in charge – or at least carried the GM title even though it was Andy Reid still very much the one calling the shots. So, whether Roseman gets any credit for drafting Cox or not, the bottom line is that the Eagles GM tried and tried to pick another defensive Pro Bowler since. 2012.