On his Big Play Slay podcast final week, Eagles Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay was talking glowingly about rookie Jalen Carter, when he inadvertently gave the primary spherical choose a nickname.

Baby Rhino.

“Jalen Carter, man, this kid is just very, very dominant man,” Slay stated. “He’s very physical, quicker than what you think and stronger than how he look. He look like a baby rhino. You know what I’m saying? You ever see a baby rhino? And man, he’s crazy. And I’m talking about, he’s pushing folks back.”

It seems like that Baby Rhino nickname would possibly simply stick. Because 14-year veteran Brandon Graham introduced it up when requested about Carter on Sunday.

“I’m loving the name Baby Rhino,” Graham stated, “because that boy is …. He is a ram. And if you get it all the way in shape and be able to get it to go all the time, he’s definitely going to have people not wanting to see him every week.”

Carter hasn’t even performed an everyday season sport within the NFL but however the hype and buzz across the No. 9 general pick of Georgia is rising.

After Carter performed a complete of simply 9 snaps within the preseason, everybody appears excited to observe Carter play in his rookie season. His teammates are fairly excited to see him on the market too.

“You’re gonna see,” Graham stated when requested about Carter’s on-field character. “When he makes a play, that boy definitely going to let you know. I can’t wait to see him in his element. We played in the (preseason) games but he didn’t play long. And so now we’re going to really see how we dig deep when it gets hard. I just know we’re heading in the right direction with them guys.”

Graham, 35, is the one participant left on the Eagles’ roster who remembers two-a-days at Lehigh University earlier than the 2011 CBA got here into impact. But nowadays, coaching camp is all designed to cut back the chance of harm and hold gamers off their ft.

For all of the Georgia Bulldogs on the roster, that’s a reasonably large change. Graham stated the Georgia guys have defined to him the military-like teaching model from Georgia head coach Kirby Smart. They run a troublesome program in Athens and Graham thinks that has helped the younger Georgia gamers transition into life within the NFL.

As for anything the rookies should study, Graham is blissful to assist. As the longest-tenured participant on the workforce, Graham is a pure chief and desires to pour into the younger gamers as a lot as he can. That consists of each first-round picks, Carter and Nolan Smith.

Graham has a novel story as a first-round choose who was labeled a bust however went on to turn out to be an all-time Eagle. He as a lot as anybody understands the strain that comes with being a excessive draft choice. Graham is blissful to share all of his experiences with Carter.

“He knows what’s at stake,” Graham stated. “He’s a first-round pick and there’s a lot of pressure on him. But I think he’s handled it well. Every day I’m always talking to him, trying to get him riled up. Even though it don’t take much to get him riled up. I know that I’m just trying to get him to understand that people are going to be scared of you if you really put that focus, that intentional focus on just making sure that your technique is good. Just learning the game even more so you can play the game even faster.”

While Carter was thought-about by many draft analysts to be the most effective general prospects on this draft class, he fell to the Eagles due to off-the-field considerations. Carter was given 12 months probation and a 1,000 high-quality after pleading no contest to misdemeanor prices of reckless driving and racing from a crash that killed two in January.

But the Eagles felt like that they had the best tradition in place for Carter. And Graham has been impressed with the rookie since his arrival in Philly.

“I think he came in right away and was just open when he got here,” Graham stated. “It’s been great ever since. I mean, the stuff off the field, I know he’s going to grow. We all had to grow when we was younger.”

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