Jalen Carter already making the Chicago Bears look bad
Chicago Bears general manager will be linked to Philadelphia Eagles rookie defensive tackle Jalen Carter for the rest of their respective careers.
Prior to the Bears trading the first overall selection of the 2023 NFL Draft to the Carolina Panthers, there was a very realistic chance that the team was going to take Carter with the selection.
As we know, the pick was moved to the Panthers and Carter’s legal troubles moved him off from being projected as the top pick in the draft.
That was not the end of the story between the Bears and Carter.
As fate turned out, Carter slipped to where the Bears were drafting in 2023 with the ninth overall selection. Instead of taking Carter, the Bears opted for culture over talent as the team traded down one spot with the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles wasted no time in taking Carter while the Bears were happy with their selection of right tackle Darnell Wright.
Regardless of how Wright turns out, one thing that he will never be is a game wrecker. The type of player that will force a team to move from their game plan in-game because of his disruptive nature.
That was the type of player that Carter projected to be at the NFL level and he wasted no time in proving that.
Jalen Carter looked like a monster in the middle of the Philadelphia Eagles defensive line.
Jalen Carter recorded 6 pressures and a sack on 32 pass rushes in his NFL debut, tied for the most pressures by any rookie defensive tackle in a game over the last five seasons.#PHIvsNE | #FlyEaglesFly
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) September 11, 2023
The bears’ pass rush made history in their own right on Sunday, too.
Packers team was credited with 35 pressures, trailing only the Cowboys for most in Week 1 (36).
— Brad Spielberger, Esq. (@PFF_Brad) September 11, 2023
Bears were credited with 6, and a 10% pass rush win rate that is PFF's lowest mark since 2021.
It is only Week 1 but Carter is already making Bears’ general manager Ryan Poles look like a fool.
Wright was a turnstile at the right tackle position for the Bears on Sunday while Carter was routinely in the backfield against the New England Patriots.
That is why the fact that Poles passed up on Carter could very well be the first mistake that we look back on when he is fired. This Bears’ defense, especially with the money spent at the linebacker position, was in desperate need of a force in the middle of their defensive line. Instead, fans are left wondering why the Bears can’t get to the quarterback while Justin Fields routinely has defenders in his lap the second that he drops back.
Next. The Chicago Bears have a lot to worry about. dark