Eagles' Carter is 'ready to be better' in 2024

Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter is confident he can take the next step in his second NFL season.

"My first year was OK," Carter said, according to Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia. "It wasn't how I wanted it to end. A lot of stuff that I seen on film is stuff I need to fix. It's OK. We here now and I'm ready to be better than last year."

Carter got off to a hot start last season, totaling 3.5 sacks, four tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles in his first five contests. Then he cooled off, only collecting 2.5 sacks in the final 11 outings. Philadelphia's defense as a whole struggled during that 11-game stretch, though, ranking 29th in EPA/play.

The Georgia product will have more on his plate in his second campaign since Fletcher Cox retired this offseason.

"I know Fletch is still going to stick around," Carter said. "He's going to come talk to us anytime we need something, even if he's not here. If I need to text him or call him, I know he's going to answer."

The club didn't add a defensive tackle in the draft, leaving Carter, Jordan Davis, Milton Williams, Moro Ojomo, Marlon Tuipuloto, PJ Mustipher, and Gabe Hall on the depth chart.

The Eagles hired Vic Fangio after he left the Miami Dolphins this offseason. The long-tenured defensive coach will be tasked with fixing a defense that went through two coordinators in 2023 and didn't hold a team below 20 points in a single contest in its last eight games.

"I love Vic, man," Carter said. "Old school. He's fun to talk to. He's a good coach. I heard a lot of good news about him because I was in Miami working out. So I had a couple Miami players out there and I was talking about them. So I heard a lot of good news. They were saying a lot of good stuff."

Miami's defense finished strong under Fangio in 2023, ranking ninth in defensive success rate in the campaign's final eight weeks.