Jalen Carter entered the offseason as a probable top-three pick and potential number-one pick. He has since been hit with two misdemeanor chargers stemming from a fatal car accident that killed Georgia offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting analyst Chandler LeCroy. Carter was charged with misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing but avoided jail time via a plea agreement.
Since then, we’ve learned that Carter’s pro day left scouts less than impressed. The defensive lineman reportedly put on weight leading up to Georgia’s pro day and put on a “less than stellar” performance. Carolina’s trade for the first-overall pick ended Carter’s hopes of going No. 1, but it remains to be seen how these recent developments will ultimately impact his draft stock.
The Lions could end up being a fit for the defensive tackle, and Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press writes that Detroit will host Carter on a top-30 visit. The Lions are currently armed with the No. 6 pick in the draft, but they could see some competition for Carter from non-QB-needy squads like the Cardinals (No. 3) and Seahawks (No. 5). As Birkett notes, the Lions could certainly use a player of Carter’s caliber on their defensive line, and GM Brad Holmes said the organization would leave “no stone unturned” as they evaluated their first-round options.
“Honestly, you’ve heard me preach intangibles since Day 1, and I’m a firm believer still that intangibles are the separators of success,” Holmes said (via Birkett). “You look at an Amon-Ra St. Brown, he’s a talented player, but his intangibles are as good as it gets and that’s why he has the success that he has. And there’s countless other players I could name to rattle off, but talent is one thing while the intangible piece, the character piece, are components. But it doesn’t make up the whole picture and the totality of the evaluation.”
If Carter sees a significant slide down the draft board, the Bears could be a landing spot at No. 9. The defensive tackle was a potential target for the organization before they traded the first-overall pick. Kevin Fishbain and Adam Jahns of The Athletic wrote earlier this month that the Bears were hesitant about the prospect even before the charges, with some scouts questioning the player’s intangibles. It would be difficult for an organization to put their faith in that kind of player with the No. 1 pick, but the Bears may be more willing to take a risk with the ninth-overall selection.
Seattle doesn’t care about character issues. They’ll take him at 5.
Cmon ravens! Ray Lewis killed a dude and he’s their best most celebrated player ever.
For sure but they draft way later than Seattle.
With signing 2 DTs already?
A GM was quoted by Brad Biggs in the Chicago Tribune recently saying that the individual team workout is by far the most important factor in pre draft judging a player. He said they spend a couple of hours at the chalkboard and several hours on the field, all based on their own system. If Carter can nail his WO with the Lions (he’s going to Chicago too), that could be his in.
It’s gonna be a big few weeks for that young man.
Yup .. you heard it here first (ok so maybe not first butttt), he’s not falling past the lions at 6#
If the Lions got him with the #6 pick, he’s going to be a steal.
He’s been nothing but a class act in Athens, and honestly all these reports about his character completely caught alot of people off guard in and around Athens.
He’s done several different charity events for kids, all of his teammates love him, and he’s always come off as a relatively quiet young man with a good head on his shoulders..
Now, I’m not saying he’s perfect or anything, but I think alot of these character issues are sadly being overblown. Yes, he likely made some bad decisions on the night of the accident, like leaving the scene, if that’s in fact exactly what happened, but I’m sure he was scared, didn’t know what the heck to do, and likely had people telling and yelling at him to leave and get out of there.
Who knows, we weren’t there..It’s a tragedy either way..
Fans and his teammates alike all went nuts around here in support for Jalen when McShay came out with his report, and that wasn’t just because he played for UGA, it is because he was beloved here and known as a quality young man.
I hope wherever he goes he proves all his doubters wrong. He’s been through alot mentally over the last several months, and I can only imagine it has been a huge roller coaster of emotions for Jalen Carter. Either way, wish that young man the best, and I’ll say I never heard a bad word about him during the three years he was on campus..
And usually that kind of stuff comes out, you hear rumors and whispers of guys that either give half effort during practices, that aren’t team guys, and you typically hear whether or not a guy is trouble, but never a bad word about Jalen for whatever that’s worth to you guys..
Hard pass, no matter how talented he is. If he’s doing stupid crap and getting folks killed before draft day, imagine him having money and making decisions then. We all do dumb ‘stuff,’ but his idiocy is extreme.
That’s why teams put character clauses in contracts.
Any team that drafts him most likely puts some sort of character clause in his rookie contract.
Carter didn’t get anyone killed. Their own actions and decisions got themselves killed. People seem to blame Carter more so than the drunk driver driving around with what .196 BAL (2.5x the legal limit)?
Upon Google search:
“Police said their investigation also determined that LeCroy’s car was driving at about 104 mph before the crash, and her blood alcohol concentration was 0.197 when the accident happened.”
which is a little odd. Even without Carter being involved strong chance the drunk driver either still kills themself or kills someone else they hit.
1 bad decision doesn’t ruin someone’s character. A string of bad decisions does. Which unless you have a crystal ball or are psychic and can predict the future none of us know what he will do in the future based on 1 bad decision.
This kind of reminds me of Joe Mixon. Coming out of college people hated Mixon cause of an incident in I think his freshman year of college where he hit a woman at a restaurant? Little fuzzy on the details. But for the most part Mixon has been nothing but an upstanding person in the league.
In a separate incident, Carter was cited going 90 in a 45. But “character” issues are more than brushes with the law. A couple of writers have said that even before showing up for his pro day overweight and not being able to finish drills, he was out of shape for the championship game as well. There’s probably some ganging up on the guy going on, but still, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
Fair point about character issues not just being off the field stuff.
It also could be the mental issues and stress from the accident and death, so let’s understand he ( Carter ) is dealing with a lot.
Why did Carter play so few snaps?
Because he’s been reported as lazy and doesn’t have a love for the game. He doesn’t like to practice. He doesn’t like to work out. He’s over weight. Lacks stamina. Takes plays off. Doesn’t play to the whistle.
Also had a previous run in with the law before the drag racing charges that resulted in a persons death. I believe it was also involving driving at over 100 MPH.
It’s not like he’s the 1st player with ‘character issues’. From what I’ve read all off season, even with the charges & being overweight, he’ll be a top 10 pick.
Disregarding the racing issue, since this is something I’d likely have done at that age, I’d be concerned about the workouts. It reminds me of Jamarcus Russell. If you can’t get in the best shape of your life before the draft, what are the chances of you doing so after the draft?
I wouldn’t hate the pick if the Raiders drafted him at #7, but I’d kind of prefer that Detroit takes the decision out of our hands.
I still think Carter gets drafted top 10. Seattle needs a defensive game wrecker so it feels like he doesn’t get by them at 5.