NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Betting: Jalen Carter Will Soar With the Eagles

At ninth overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles traded up to take defensive tackle Jalen Carter, a player who has the potential to be a real force right away.

After a dominant tenure at the University of Georgia that resulted in two national championships, Carter wound up being named a unanimous All-American for the 2022-23 season.

Despite off-field issues at Georgia, Carter appears ready to bring the best version of himself to Philadelphia. Fortunately for Carter, he will immediately enter a positionally friendly spot within the Eagles' defensive front -- which is one of the best units in football.

The NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year odds at FanDuel Sportsbook have Carter listed at +750 to win the award, making him the second favorite after only Will Anderson Jr. (+400). Behind them, Tyree Wilson (+900) holds the next-shortest odds.

What needs to happen for Carter to win the award?

How to Build a DROY Season

The AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year has regularly showcased some of the best talent the NFL has to offer. Sauce Gardner, Micah Parsons, Shaq Leonard and both Bosa brothers have all been recipients in recent years.

Although defensive linemen win the DROY award somewhat often, we have to go as far back as 2014 to find another defensive tackle who won it: Aaron Donald.

In Donald's rookie campaign (when the Los Angeles Rams were still playing in St. Louis), he managed 12 starts but saw action in all 16 contests. By the completion of the 2014 season, Donald had produced 9.0 sacks, 18 tackles for loss and 2 forced fumbles.

Donald has gone on to win three AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards.

Carter is built rather similarly to Donald, only with a slightly more imposing frame. Carter -- at 6-foot-3, 300 pounds -- is a smidge taller than Donald. Still, Carter plays the game with a comparable level of explosion/burst as the seven-time All-Pro.

Obviously, Donald's career has set the bar extremely high, but to cash this market, Carter doesn't need to be a generational wrecking ball -- he just needs to deliver the goods in 2023, something he's capable of doing.

What Does Carter Offer?

As just mentioned, Carter is the prototypical size for an NFL defensive tackle. Often a glamorless spot, D-tackles are responsible for pinching down on the offense's interior workings. Duties such as taking on double-team blocks, clogging up running lanes and assisting in gang tackling are commonplace for the position.

That's important work, but it's not great for catching headlines. Simply put, it can be difficult to compile flashy statistics as a defensive tackle, which is likely at least part of the reason no DT has won the award since Donald.

But Carter can make his presence felt in his rookie campaign. When you consider his current situation with the defending NFC champion Eagles, those +750 odds in the DROY market start to appear more enticing.

Being dropped into what may be the best defensive front-seven in the NFL -- the Eagles ranked top-10 in all turnover categories last season -- Carter will likely be inserted in the outgoing Javon Hargrave's spot. With Hargrave now a member of the San Francisco 49ers, Carter has an opportunity to thrive in favorable spots alongside Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, Haason Reddick and Josh Sweat. Genuinely, that group could go toe-to-toe with "The Monstars" from the first Space Jam film.

This situation can be a great aid to Carter in Year 1.

Jalen Carter's 2023 Outlook

The football community has high expectations for Carter in is his rookie year, and the betting market does, too, which is why Carter is listed as the second favorite. He showed in college that he is made for the big moment. He will enter a locker-room in Philadelphia that has several potential veteran mentors for Carter -- both on and off the field.

Considering the Eagles' defensive production last season, Carter will be in a position to immediately raise his value across the NFL landscape. As defending NFC champs, Philadelphia will play in at least five primetime games in 2023. That will give Carter a national platform to showcase his abilities -- something that matters a lot for awards voting.

Carter is capable of hitting the ground running in 2023, and playing alongside such a top-tier group of D-Linemen should only help his cause.

Even though defensive tackles don't often receive their kudos, Carter can buck that trends thanks to his ability, his positional situation in Philly and his opportunity to shine on one of the NFL's best squads.

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