When the New York Giants selected Georgia linebacker Lorenzo Carter in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft, some saw the pick as a gamble, while others viewed it as a potential steal.
After two seasons, both camps can claim victory. Carter, who has 8.5 sacks and 88 tackles (55 solo) with 23 QB hits and 13 tackles for a loss has been frustrating to watch.
He is overwhelming some weeks, nonexistent in others. Coming out of Georgia, the knock on Carter was his inconsistency. That has spilled over into his pro career. That could be due to the way the Giants have deployed him.
Here’s and interesting take from Sports Illustrated’s Gene Clemons:
Carter is most effective when he is rushing the passer and using his speed-to-power moves as a 9-tech (outside the tight end’s alignment) to overwhelm offensive linemen.
In Carter’s two seasons with the Giants, he has been used to drop into coverage, cover backs out the backfield, and carry tight ends vertically.
He has lined up at defensive end, outside linebacker, middle linebacker, and defensive tackle. Despite this inconsistency, he has still managed to sack the QB at least four times each year.
You can chalk that up to former defensive coordinator James Bettcher’s slipshod scheme that never took hold. It also had him playing out of position because the Giants brought in a veteran who basically took Carter’s job.
Carter is a hunter, and in many instances over the last two seasons, he was not allowed to hunt. The interesting part is that the Giants had someone doing the very same job for which Carter is the ideal fit. That player is unrestricted free agent Markus Golden, who produced ten sacks playing the position for which Carter was tailor-made.
When we look at the film and the inconsistent way the Giants used Carter, and we wonder what Graham might be thinking regarding personnel deployment moving forward, an excellent place to start is to look at how the Patriots and Packers did things during Graham’s tenure there.
Still, Carter has to be able to take advantage of his opportunities and for the most part, he hasn’t. But leave it to the Giants to limit those opportunities. Under the new coaching staff, we can expect Carter to show an increase in production.
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