2023 NFL Draft Profile: Defensive Tackle Jalen Carter

We continue our series profiling prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft. Next up is defensive tackle Jalen Carter.

In the 2023 NFL Draft, Defensive tackle Jalen Carter was one of the most exciting prospects. He has all the tools to be a multiple All-Pro candidate. Plenty of teams were salivating at selecting him and transforming their defense.

Then Carter hit a few bumps on the road to the NFL. He was involved in a drag race in January that killed a teammate and a University of Georgia staffer.

At the start of the NFL Combine earlier this month, a warrant for Carter’s arrest was issued. He left the Combine to take care of that issue. Ultimately, he pled no contest and received a year of probation, a $1,000-dollar fine, and community service.

In addition to his legal trouble, or, more because of it, Carter did not have a very good Pro Day. He was overweight and could not finish the workout.

Because of that, many people speculated that Carter would drop. They questioned his work ethic and wondered if he would be worth it considering he might be a headache. They also wondered how the deaths in the crash would affect him.

Well, now that his legal trouble is done he could concentrate on his work. He could have some private workouts to show that he is the prospect teams felt he was.

Despite all of the naysayers, Carter could likely still be in high demand when the first-round picks are announced on April 27. Here is his profile.

Strengths

Carter measures in at 6-foot-3 and weighs 314 pounds (at his best). He checks all of the traits you want in a defensive tackle. He is a tough, physical player with explosiveness off the snap. He can play in either an even or add front, giving coaches flexibility.

In addition to his explosive first step, Carter is able to create leverage and blow past blockers. Blockers can never take a snap off with Carter there. Any slip and Carter blows up the backfield. He has active feet at all times and has elite hand usage. If he needs to use a violent hit he can do that. If he needs to subtly use them he can do that as well.

On the field, Carter has a high motor. He is equally good against the run or the pass. He is able to handle double teams and slip through blockers to get to the ball carrier quickly. Moving him is a difficult task and he closes his gap to ball carriers. Double-teaming him means that the edge pass rushers will have enough space to get into the backfield quickly.

Against the pass, he can effectively stunt and slip through. His body control is elite level. He has the lower body flexibility to drop his weight and dip behind blockers’ hands.

When he is going one-on-one, he has the hand power to knock blockers off balance. Additionally, he has the power to move blockers back into the quarterback’s lap.

Areas of improvement

The scary part of watching Carter is that he still has room to get even better. He can still refine his game. Sometimes he relies too much on his raw tools. The players in the NFL are bigger and stronger so he cannot just rely on his physical tools alone. He’ll become too predictable that way.

What happened after the 2022 season ended has to be of at least a little bit of concern. He is young and this could just be one indiscretion and he learns from it. However, teams have to determine if he is immature and that it could cause future trouble.

Projection

This will be a big decision for NFL general managers. Carter could be a generational talent. Do they shy away from him because of what he went through?

Carter has the talent to go in the top five. Teams like the Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, and Chicago Bears could really use his talent.

At the very least he should go in the top ten. There is usually at least one player in every draft who tumbles down for one reason or another. If Carter is the one this year, there could be some team that grabs him and have a steal.