At the very least, the rookie figures to man the third safety role and play special teams. He has Reed Blankenship and Terrell Edmunds ahead of him on the depth chart. Sydney Brown, snatched up one pick after Steen, might be in a similar spot at safety. If not, Steen has extensive OT experience and could make for a quality four-position reserve. Tyler Steen actually has a chance to start in Year 1 if he can make the transition to guard and beat out Cam Jurgens. Even if his smaller size poses some issues, the explosive Smith has time to grow into a starting role. But scooping him up at the bottom of Round 1 and knowing he doesn't have to be a 50-snaps-per-game player immediately ups the appeal a notch or two. Had he gone to another team in the top 15 or 20 picks, I wouldn't have liked it nearly as much.
One of those other Bulldogs the Eagles nabbed: Nolan Smith. 10) and is a successful enough franchise to be able to survive Carter busting for non-football reasons.
Carter might be the best player in this draft Philadelphia got him with the ninth pick (after a trade up from No. They also have no shot to land Carter if GM Howie Roseman didn't make a savvy pre-draft trade a year earlier. They assembled a veteran-laden D-line over time, already arguably the best in the NFL, and have a bevy of Carter's college teammates on the roster (including two added during this year's draft). But the thing with the Jalen Carter pick - the centerpiece of a strong draft class, but a prospect with well-documented character concerns - is that the Eagles built the perfect environment in which he can thrive.
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