If there’s one place that can survive Carter’s pre-draft drama, it’s the defending NFC champs. Carter will reunite with college teammates Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean, and his addition as the best pure player in this class will do a lot to mitigate the loss of Javon Hargrave in free agency. If Carter keeps is straight and makes the most of his potential, the Eagles’ five-man fronts will be just about impossible to deal with.
Height: 6′ 3⅛” (59th percentile) Weight: 314 (74th)
40-Yard Dash: N/A
10-Yard Split: N/A
Bench Press: N/A
Vertical Jump: N/A
Broad Jump: N/A
3-Cone Drill: N/A
20-Yard Shuttle: N/A
Wingspan: N/A
Arm Length: 33½” (63rd)
Hand Size: 10¼” (73rd)
Bio: A five-star recruit out of Apopka High School in Apopka, Florida, Carter played defensive tackle, tight end and punter in high school and chose the Bulldogs over a wave of possibilities. In three seasons with Georgia, Carter had nine sacks, 13 quarterback hits, 57 quarterback hurries, 57 tackles, 51 stops, and two forced fumbles. He had 695 snaps in the B-gaps, 186 over the tackles, 132 in the A-gaps, and 35 outside the tackles. In a 2021 Georgia defense that sent seven players to the NFL in the 2022 draft, Carter was considered by many evaluators to be the most talented player on the roster.
Carter’s pre-draft process was obviously complicated by the story which broke at the scouting combine regarding his arrest on traffic charges in a crash that killed a teammate and a school football staffer hours after the team’s national championship parade. Carter’s subsequent pro day, which he did not appear ready for, didn’t help.
Stat to Know: In 2022, Carter’s True Pressure Rate (pressure rate that isolates straight dropbacks, which are more likely to be similar across situations) of 16% led all interior defensive linemen in this class.
Strengths: Carter’s nose for the pocket puts him on a different level than any other defensive player in this class. Even other first round-projected prospects like Florida right guard O’Cyrus Torrence have found it difficult to keep up with his furious rush.
"O'Cyrus, I'm in fear for my life from the long arm of the law…" pic.twitter.com/vdvQhpQzLK
— Doug Farrar ✍ (@NFL_DougFarrar) April 6, 2023
Carter’s ability to leverage gaps with lateral quickness and agility is just ridiculous. When he uses his hands to maximize his lower-body movement skills… well, that’s one reason he’s just a rare talent.
And the pure power to just knife through double teams is generational. We tend to overuse that word when describing draft prospects, but it applies here. Carter at his best balances upper-body strength and technique to make himself virtually unblockable.
And it can’t be overstated just how insane it is that Carter, at 6-foot-3 plus, and 315 pounds, can win from any gap. Even as an edge defender, he creates serious problems for opposing blockers.
Weaknesses: Carter isn’t quite as consistent as a run defender; there are times when his tools take him right to the edge of blowing up a back, and he’s late to engage. While he is talented enough to work off blocks from just about anybody… I don’t want to make this about “effort” because I have to get inside his head to do that, but he’s not as dynamic in these situations.
Conclusion: Based purely on his game tape, Carter is the best prospect in this class, regardless of position — there are more NFL-ready traits here than with any other prospect, and the upside is fearsome. The off-field issues and unimpressive pro day will have NFL teams doing all kinds of due diligence, and rightly so, but however much it’ll be about the tape… well, someone’s going to redefine their defense with Jalen Carter if everything goes the right way.
NFL Comparison: Chris Jones. Like Jones, who the Chiefs selected in the second round of the 2016 draft out of Mississippi State, Carter is a perfect distillation of the modern interior defensive lineman in that he can create pressure from any gap in multiple ways. Jones has further advanced his skills throughout his estimable career to become one of the best of his era, and given the right environment, Carter absolutely has that potential.