There will be a lot of fun matchups to watch during Sunday’s game between the Rams and Eagles, including Aaron Donald against Landon Dickerson and Ahkello Witherspoon versus A.J. Brown. But one of the best will take place on the interior when the Rams have the ball.
Steve Avila against Jalen Carter, two outstanding rookies who were selected in the first two rounds.
Buy Rams TicketsAvila was drafted by the Rams at No. 36 overall this year and he’s played every snap at left guard through four games. Carter, meanwhile, “fell” to No. 9 and into the lap of the Eagles after some pre-draft off-field concerns dropped him from being a consensus top-three pick.
This won’t be the first time these two players will meet on the field. They squared off in the CFP National Championship last season when Georgia demolished TCU, 65-7. Though Avila won’t be tasked with blocking Carter on every snap, they’ll go up against each other plenty on Sunday.
Carter’s most frequent position played this season is right defensive tackle, playing 48 snaps there – which would put him across from Avila at left guard. He’s been a force early in his rookie year, earning a 92.2 defensive grade from Pro Football Focus up to this point – fourth-best in the NFL.
When Avila and Carter played in the national title game, Avila held his own against all of Georgia’s defenders. He allowed just one pressure, which was a hurry, and had a pass-blocking grade of 81.8, according to PFF.
Bobby Skinner of JM Football and Talkin’ Giants broke down Avila’s tape pre-draft and showed some of his reps against Carter, which you can see in the video below.
Carter is having a terrific season and already looks like the next great defensive tackle in the NFL, but Avila could have some valuable knowledge and experience to use against the former Georgia standout on Sunday.
There’s no question Avila has the power to match Carter’s, seeing the way he’s anchored down on numerous reps this season, so he’ll just have to use his movement skills to stay in front of Carter when he goes with a more finesse approach.
Avila vs. Carter Part 2 should be a joy to watch this weekend.
