Is Chiefs' offensive line really ready for Jalen Carter? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
NEW ORLEANS — Jalen Carter has the ability to wreck a football game.
And the Chiefs know it.
As Super Bowl LIX nears, the Chiefs’ interior offensive line has been preparing all week in an attempt to slow down the Eagles’ stud defensive tackle.
“It’s going to be an incredible challenge,” Chiefs left guard Mike Caliendo said. “He’s an incredible athlete, incredible player. He plays with super high effort. Guys like that, it’s definitely not going to be an easy day for us by any means. But he’s a great player and it’s going to be a great challenge for us to match up against him.”
Carter, 23, had a Pro Bowl season in his second year in the NFL after a really encouraging rookie campaign in 2023. During the 2024 regular season, Carter had 4 1/2 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, 16 QB hits, 6 batted passes and 2 forced fumbles.
He has been just as dynamic and disruptive in the playoffs.
“Phenomenal player,” Chiefs’ All-Pro center Creed Humphrey said. “He’s got a ton of talent. Really good in run and pass. He’s definitely a challenge and we’re excited to get to work this week in prep for it.”
In these three playoff games, Carter already has 2 sacks, 5 QB hits, 2 TFLs, 3 pass breakups and a forced fumble. He basically called game late in the fourth quarter against the Rams to get to the NFC Championship Game with a sack and a pressure on consecutive snaps after Matthew Stafford drove them all the way down to the 13-yard line.
During these playoffs, Carter leads all defensive tackles with 12 pressures and he has played 91.7% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps.
“He’s really good,” right guard Trey Smith said. “He makes a lot of plays, unorthodox in his approach a lot of times taking on blocks. Extremely physical player. He’s a good player, man, he’s having a great year.”
While the Eagles have the best offensive line in the NFL, the Chiefs’ line is still really good. It should be no surprise that an Andy Reid team is well-built in the trenches. But there is still an opportunity for Carter to pressure Patrick Mahomes in this game.
Earlier in the season, the Chiefs were struggling at left tackle and bumped veteran Joe Thuney out from left guard to left tackle. While Thuney has played really well to solidify the edge, they miss him inside.
Since going to this current offensive line in Week 15, the Chiefs’ interior has allowed a pressure rate of 9.0%, per NFL NextGen Stats. That is the fourth-highest rate in the NFL after they had been fourth-lowest (5.1%) in the first 14 weeks of the season.
Here’s where the Chiefs’ interior offensive linemen were ranked by PFF among at their respective positions in 2024:
LG Mike Caliendo: 72/77
C: Creed Humphrey: 1/40
RG Trey Smith: 14/77
Humphrey is an All-Pro, Smith is a Pro Bowler and Caliendo is a weak link. Carter gets most of his snaps over the right guard, but even with a Pro Bowler there, the Chiefs are going to have a decision to make. Do they give Carter the 1-on-1 or do they slide protections to help with him?
It’s not an easy answer. Because every time they slide to help on Carter, they would leave a 1-on-1 for a player like Milton Williams or Moro Ojomo. While Carter leads all defensive tackles with 12 pressures this postseason, Williams isn’t far behind with nine.
“They’re a deep defensive line overall,” Humphrey said. “They have good players everywhere. With that, there’s plenty of guys capable on that defensive line who can win their 1-on-1s too, so we have to be on top of our games.”
The key to facing a player who can sometimes be unorthodox is to play with sound technique, Smith said.
But the Chiefs also have to be ready for Carter’s relentlessness. Even though Carter is playing over 90% of the Eagles’ snaps these days, he is still hustling on every play.
“He’s not going to stop,” Caliendo said. “We know that. He’s definitely not conventional like most D-linemen you see on a weekly basis. But it’s going to be a fun challenge.”
The Chiefs get a pretty good challenge in practice, going against six-time Pro Bowler Chris Jones, who has long been considered one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL.
While the starting line saw Jones in training camp, Reid has also had some 1s vs. 1s reps late in the season. Going against a player like Jones is a good way to prepare to see Carter.
“I’ve been here for three years and the majority of the time I’ve been on scout team going against Chris,” Caliendo said. “I don’t know if there’s a better guy to prepare you to go against Jalen Carter. Just been fun learning from Chris. He helps me out, he teaches me things that I’m not doing. It’s been a great influence on me and my game to be able to face him every single day. It’s a great comparison, him and Chris. I think Jalen’s on the path to being at that same level.”
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