Georgia coaching staff reportedly 'not Jalen Carter fans'

"We’ve heard it more bluntly and strongly," Florio continued. "Members of the Georgia coaching staff are not Jalen Carter fans, and they weren’t bashful about saying so." 

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. previously ranked Carter his top prospect in this draft class despite the numerous red flags hovering over the star's status ahead of Thursday night. Carter pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing in March regarding his alleged role in a fatal January car crash and was accused of being out of shape at Georgia's pro day. Analysts also mentioned questions about Carter's "effort level in practice" and his in-game "motor." 

One report from early April said that "at least a couple" of teams had removed Carter from their draft boards at that time, but it was nevertheless believed as late as Thursday morning that Carter would be a top-10 pick. 

Per Tim McManus of ESPN, Philadelphia sent the 10th overall pick this year and a 2024 fourth-round choice to the Chicago Bears for the No. 9 selection.

"When we got to know Jalen, we just felt like here’s a kid that does love football," Eagles general manager Howie Roseman told reporters about the team's decision process on Thursday evening, as shared by Pro Football Talk's Josh Alper. "Obviously he’s a winner — he won in high school, he won in college — and we felt like we have really good people in this building. We have a really good support staff, we have really good players who are good people, we have really good coaches and we felt like it was a good fit for us."

It's now on Roseman, the Eagles and Carter to prove critics and doubters wrong beginning with training camp practices.