The Eagles' biggest midseason surprise: DT Jalen Carter

Philadelphia Eagles rookie defensive tackle Jalen Carter is playing like he's been in the NFL for a decade already.  

In nine games, the Eagles' rookie has logged 16 total tackles, five sacks and 29 total pressures. 

He ranks fifth among defensive tackles in sacks, per Pro Football Focus. But here's the kicker, he's played just 251 total snaps. 

We'll use Aaron Donald as an example since he's been compared to the 11-year veteran already this season. 

Donald has 36 total tackles, six sacks and 40 total pressures on the season so far. He's played 480 snaps. That's 229 more snaps than Carter has played, which is why his midseason performance has been so surprising. 

Unfortunately, Carter hasn't been playing every snap because he's been beaten up with injuries. 

His most recent injury was a back injury that he sustained in Week 8 in the Eagles' win over the Washington Commanders. Prior to that, he suffered an ankle sprain in practice and missed Week 6's loss to the New York Jets. 

That was a fear of head coach Nick Sirianni's and a big reason as why he didn't play Carter a lot at the start of the season. "It's a long season," Sirianni repeatedly said when questioned about Carter's snap count a few weeks ago. 

Despite battling through injuries, there's no doubt when he's out there that he's a monster. 

He struggled a bit in Sunday's win over the Dallas Cowboys. However, he did come up huge with a crucial half-sack alongside Brandon Graham on Dak Prescott when the Eagles needed a stop with the game on the line at the end of the fourth quarter.