Three-year pro Jalen Carter is officially on the NFL Top 100, landing at 29th overall.
The NFL has slowly been releasing its top 100 players throughout the summer, and the Philadelphia Eagles’ defensive tackle may have just scored one of the most controversial ranks thus far.
Entering the 2025 season, Carter was ranked 43rd after having his most productive year, in which he played 16 games. In 2025, the Georgia product was sidelined for parts of the season due to a lingering shoulder injury. However, the 6’3″ quarterback punisher still made the Pro Bowl, his second-straight campaign doing so.
Jalen Carter’s 29th Overall Top 100 Ranking Draws Mixed Opinions
While there will always be chatter regarding player grades around the NFL, Carter’s seems to have drawn more controversy than most out of the gate.
One Eagles coverer supports the ranking, commenting on the NFL’s video post regarding Carter’s placement.
“If you had any questions about why Eagles extended Jalen Carter, just watch this,” said Thomas R. Petersen. “Also: Maxx Crosby really, really, REALLY wants to play with Carter.”
If you had any questions about why Eagles extended Jalen Carter, just watch this.
Also: Maxx Crosby really, really, REALLY wants to play with Carter#Eagles https://t.co/kWJbs48We6
— Thomas R. Petersen (@thomasrp93) August 10, 2026
Brandon Thorn, an offensive and defensive lineman evaluator, echoed Petersen’s thoughts, highlighting Carter’s sheer size and force.
“One analogy I’ve become a big believer in with trench players is the size of the engine,” said Thorn. “Some guys simply have more horsepower than everyone else, even in the NFL. The sheer power, explosiveness and physical ability when they hit the gas can become almost impossible to deal with. Jalen Carter has a Lamborghini V12.”
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Another NFL fan chimed in on Carter being ranked at an adequate position.
This X user understands Carter’s capabilities, despite playing in just 11 regular season games, and said, “Down year btw lol, it’s about to get scary.”
Down year btw lol it’s about to get scary https://t.co/OMLDXvWD8O
— YoCliff (@CliffNotez_) August 10, 2026
It appears several fans understand that 2025 was not an accurate depiction of the 25-year-old’s play, as another notes Carter’s strong ranking.
“When healthy, Jalen Carter is the Eagles’ best player on defense, it’s no coincidence his peers voted him as a top 30 player in a down year,” said an X user.
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While some fans are in agreement, PFN grades Carter significantly lower on its Top 100 NFL Players, where the former first-round pick was ranked 78th. Carter’s 81.3 impact score grades him 12th overall at his position in 2025 using PFN’s DT Impact Metric.
Jalen Carter came in at No. 78 on PFN’s Top 100 after posting an 81.3 grade in our DT Impact metric in 2025. pic.twitter.com/km5B4RbZe4
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) August 10, 2026
A handful of fellow NFL fans disagreed with Carter’s ranking, as several compared him to other players, including Seattle Seahawks’ Byron Murphy and Tennessee Titans’ Jeffery Simmons.
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“Man, what the heck? #Seahawks Byron Murphy had a way more productive season despite the fewer games Eagles’ Jalen Carter had in 2025,” said a Seahawks fan on X. “Carter had 41 pressures and 30 QB hurries in 2025. Murphy had 50 pressures and 38 QB hurries in 2025.
“Their pass rush grades were similar, with Carter posting a 78.7 PFF grade and Murphy posting a 76.6 PFF grade. This, in my opinion, confirms that Murphy isn’t on the list because the #NFL players won’t allow it.”
Man, what the heck? #Seahawks Byron Murphy had a way more productive season despite the fewer games #Eagles Jalen Carter had in 2025.
Carter had 41 pressures and 30 QB hurries in 2025.
Murphy had 50 pressures and 38 QB hurries in 2025.Their pass rush grades were similar, with… https://t.co/siriGIQKmf pic.twitter.com/a5mk3QlkR4
— HawkMania (@hawkmania4) August 10, 2026
A fellow Murphy supporter wrote, “Byron Murphy was better and isn’t on this list.”
Similarly, this NFL fan described Simmons’ campaign in comparison to Carter’s.
“Guess which one is ranked the lowest,” said an X user displaying a graphic of Simmons and Carter’s stats. “A [expletive] joke and none of these [expletive] were all pro Simmons was first team.”
Despite one fan’s claim that Carter is the Eagles’ top defensive player, another X user does not even see him as a top-four player on Vic Fangio’s unit.
“He’s not even a t4 player on the Eagles defense, what are we doing?” added another NFL fan.
he’s not even a t4 player on the eagles defense what are we doing https://t.co/2nD3KNXYnv
— B (@lifestylebrazyy) August 10, 2026
As the NFL narrows down to its top players, do you agree with their placement of the budding defensive tackle?
