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Chris Jones and Jalen Carter are the biggest defensive trench stars ahead of the Super Bowl. The league has watched the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles stars, respectively, change the phase of a game.
Jones isn’t shy about praising Carter’s development. He even compared the second-year NFC champion defender to one Eagles legend, per Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports Wednesday.
“He’s a physical specimen, he’s unorthodox, he’s a young Fletcher Cox,” Jones said.
That’s right, Jones sees a lot of the revered six-time Pro Bowler when looking at Carter. Cox additionally stacked three second team All-Pro selections in his career. Of course, Eagle fans remember Cox for helping lead Philly to its only Super Bowl victory back in the 2017 season.
Ironically, Carter came in to eventually replace the franchise legend Cox.
The Eagles grabbed the Georgia Bulldogs star at No. 9 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. Carter arrived during a time the Eagles were hanging on to Cox.
Carter eventually learned and absorbed knowledge from the perennial Pro Bowl interior defender. Cox played in 15 games during his final campaign of ’23. The veteran delivered 33 total tackles, 15 solo stops and produced five sacks before eventually giving way to Carter.
Cox officially retired from the league on March 10, 2024. He played his entire career with the Eagles from 2012 to 2023.
Carter is now leading the new trench movement in Philly. The cat-quick 6-foot-3, 314-pounder piled 33 tackles his rookie year, including 20 solo stops. But he showed his pass rushing prowess early by tallying six sacks.
The young defender ascended higher this season. Carter topped his previous tackle marks by hitting 42 total stops, 25 behind the line of scrimmage and delivered a career-best six pass breakups.
Carter’s tackle numbers nearly matched the combined 80 Cox collected in his first two NFL seasons. The newest Eagles star, however, has already produced more sacks (10.5) in his first couple of campaigns compared to Cox’s output (8.5).
Jones knows how impactful Carter is along the Eagles’ front line. Carter now has a chance to join Cox as Super Bowl winning defenders on the Eagles.
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