Editors note: The Panthers coordinators spoke Thursday morning, before news was made public that Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts would not play Sunday because of a blood clot in his leg.

CHARLOTTE — Bryce Young has a lot of experience with Jalen Carter, maybe more than a quarterback would prefer. The two have only faced each once in their NFL careers (the two entered the league the same year in 2023, both in the Top 10 of the draft) but squared off three times in college, including twice in a five week span when Young was the starting quarterback at Alabama and Carter was anchoring the line from Georgia in the SEC championship and national championship games.

And the meetings have left quite an impression.

"A ton of respect for his game. He's been dominate at every level. He's an elite, elite player,"  complimented Young, shaking his head before adding one more, "elite" for good measure.

"You definitely account for where he's at," Young continued. "You definitely have to have a plan. Again, they have a lot of really good guys. Yeah, he's elite. So again, that's stuff that we're excited for the challenge for, a ton of respect, and we know we have to be at our best."

In Week 5 against the Jaguars, Carter registered three pressures and 2.0 sacks, both of which forced a fumble, becoming the first defensive tackle with two strip sacks in a game since Chris Jones in Week 3 of 2020.

He already has 3.0 sacks this season, matching his total from 2025 (11 games), and forced three fumbles total, more than he had the last two years combined. Already a two time Pro Bowler, he is on pace for a career year in almost every category.

"He's a phenomenal player. When he's going, when he's healthy and full speed and he doesn't have a club on his hand, he is special," said offensive coordinator Brad Idzik.

(Carter suffered a hairline fracture in his wrist in Week 1 and wore a cast the first few weeks of the season. His dominant Jaguars performance was his first game without the club.)

"So somebody that you've got to account for in both phases," continued Idzik, concurring with his quarterback. "Does a really good job utilizing his quickness to shoot gaps and understand when he can shoot gaps.

"I think (Eagles defensive coordinator Vic) Fangio does a phenomenal job too of understanding what kinds of players he has and how he can highlight their best attributes. So Jalen Carter working the edges with quickness, they do a really good job of working games both against the run and pass to try to shake him free."

One of the reasons Fangio has freedom to highlight Carter is thanks to the rest of the defensive front for the Eagles which includes two of his Georgia teammates, Nolan Smith and Jordan Davis. The trio have spent their entire college and professional career together, creating a chemistry that is hard to quantify in a game plan. It's something Idzik is facing head on this week as the Panthers prepare to take on Philadelphia on Sunday.

"For our guys, you just have to understand who's lining up against you. You go from Jordan Davis to Nolan Smith to Jalen Carter, all three special players up front, but all three very different types of athletes and different types of players," explained Idzik.

"So understanding, OK, when 98 is in front of me, how does he want to try to win this rep against what we're calling? So, we're confident in our calls and our schemes and our techniques, but then also you've got to apply that to the specific player that's in front of you and Jalen Carter is certainly a special one."

The Eagles defense is 24th overall, allowing an average of 356.8 yards per game, as they have been kept on the field with a disadvantageous time of possession through five weeks (27th in the league). But they have squared up in the red zone, including two goal-line stands against Jacksonville on Sunday, and are 16th in scoring defense, holding teams to 22.4 points per game.

"The entire defense, they play really, really well together; up front in the box, super stout. Super physical in the back end," said Young. "They do a great job of communicating, a great job of being sticky in coverage. They've come up with some really big plays back there, so we have a ton of respect for that unit, for them as a team, for the hostile environment we're going to go into.

"So throughout the week we have to make sure we're working to give ourselves the best chance to go and compete, and then we're happy for the opportunity."

Panthers have to both prepare and not prepare for Barkley

Ejiro Evero isn't quite sure how to label the situation. On one hand, the Panthers' defensive coordinator doesn't want to commit a ton of time to a player who might not be on the field Sunday when Carolina faces Philadelphia. On the other hand, you can't be caught facing a game changer like Saquon Barkley without a plan.

"You always prepare for, I don't know if you say best case or worst case, but you prepare for him to play," explained Evero on Thursday of the Eagles running back who has missed the last one and a half games with a hamstring injury."And, he's a great player and, we certainly don't want to be caught off guard if he plays, right?  And so, we have to have that mindset, and then we adapt either way."

Barkley, the NFL offensive player of the year (2024), rookie of the year (2018), All-Pro (2024), league rushing leader (2024), and three-time Pro Bowler, demands a defense's full attention when he is on the field. But he hasn't been on the field for the Eagles since three minutes into the first quarter of Philly's Week 4 loss to the Rams.

He also didn't practice Wednesday, and reports suggest he won't be available, though Eagles coach Nick Sirianni remains hopeful he could be ready by Sunday. If that is the case, Evero knows his in-game plan will have to adjust.

"I think a big part of that is, how do you call the game, with Saquon in there versus not," said Evero. "So all those things factor in. But the way I've always approached it is I always prepare for the best players being ready to be there and being available."

If Barkley isn't available, it will likely be a Dameon Pierce game again, since Tank Bigsby (IR) and Will Shipley (foot) are also unavailable. Pierce had 14 yards on 11 carries in Week 5.

"The blocking scheme with these guys doesn't seem to vary much, so we'll start with that, from that standpoint," explained Evero. "Obviously, Saquon and Pierce are two different styles of runner. Saquon is one of the best in the league. Pierce does a good job of running physical and downhill, and so, there's a part of it, OK, we have to play the blocks up front.

"We understand the schemes that they're trying to run and deploy, but at the end of the day, when you're approaching these ball carriers, how do you tackle these guys, right? And the tackling plan, really for Saquon, for Pierce, really even for the tight ends, the receivers, all those things, you always have to be mindful of what the best tackling opportunity is for those guys."

Brycen Tremayne a physical player in every phase

When offensive coordinator Brad Idzik was asked about wide receiver Brycen Tremayne on Thursday, he recalled recruiting the "string-bean quarterback at Venice High," who became a big-bodied receiver at Stanford. But he also noted that Tremayne's willingness to play many roles made him a coaches' favorite, saying, "No job is too small, no moment is too big."

In addition to his six catches for 115 yards as an offensive player (including a four-catch, 83-yard game at Cleveland), Tremayne also leads the team with four special teams tackles this year.

Outside linebacker Thomas Incoom, linebacker Maema Njongmeta (now on the practice squad), linebacker Jackson Kuwatch, cornerback Akayleb Evans, and tight end Feleipe Franks are tied for second with three each.

Those units are generally filled with the spare defensive players who are used to tackling people for a living, but special teams coach Tracy Smith said he doesn't think of Tremayne differently in that regard.

"Those guys, the majority of them, when they grew up playing football, they played some defense in high school, they played some defense in middle school, they were generally the best player on their team at some point," Smith said. "So you have to have that guy either rush the pass or play safety, do something. So a true no-experience guy is probably more rare than a great tackler. But it really, really helps your team when that guy can also tackle cause you can often find an offensive player with speed or the ability to beat a block, but then that makes him, that puts him in a position to be the first guy to the tackle. For him to actually get the guy down is a huge bonus when you're talking about that type of player.

"I think you have to coach each person differently. There are defensive players that aren't really interested in tackling a guy on a punt also. So there, there's the willingness and the spirit; that's a big part of any of that. So that's person-to-person.

"Do you have to coach Brycen Tremayne differently than Bobby Okereke as far as tackling a guy? No, not one bit."