A wartime carrier group against modern anti-ship missiles

Could two Essex carriers and three late-war destroyers stop a swarm of modern anti-ship missiles?

No, although they would fight hard; three destroyers are also an implausibly thin screen for two fleet carriers.

The proposed force combines two Essex-class carriers with only two Fletcher-class and one Gearing-class destroyer. Their three-inch and five-inch dual-purpose guns would not stop a swarm of modern anti-ship missiles. More importantly, two carriers escorted by only three destroyers indicate that the wider fleet has already suffered a major failure. Weapon capability has to be read within force structure because an air-defence problem cannot be separated from screen depth and fleet attrition.