Georgia football junior defensive lineman Jalen Carter went first overall to the Chicago Bears in ESPN analyst Mel Kiper's latest NFL mock draft.
The 6-foot-3-inch lineman earned 32 total tackles, 16 solo, in his third year with the Bulldogs, according to Sports Reference. He added on three sacks, seven tackles for loss, three pass deflections and two forced fumbles as the Georgia football program went 15-0 in the 2022 season.
Jalen Carter made his announcement to enter the NFL draft just hours after the Bulldogs earned a 65-7 win over the TCU Horned Frogs in the College Football National Championship, the 21-year-old wrote in an early-January tweet.
“My dream since childhood has been to play in the NFL and without my mother this wouldn’t be possible,” Carter wrote. “I am beyond blessed to have her in my corner.
“With all that being said, I would like to announce that I am declaring for the NFL draft. While I am excited for the next chapter, I will always be a dawg.”
Jalen Carter would join a Chicago Bears roster that placed 28th in the league in opponent completion percentage with 67.2%, 31st in the league in rushing yards allowed with 2,674 and last in rushing touchdowns allowed with 31, according to the NFL.
“Chicago's roster needs help from top to bottom, but its defense was particularly dreadful in 2022, ranking last in the league in sacks (20) and points allowed per game (27.2),” Mel Kiper wrote in his NFL mock draft. “It has to be D all the way for wherever the Bears make their selection.
“Carter, an explosive interior pass-rusher and run-stuffer, gets the nod over Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. on my Big Board. He's the best player in this draft, a Day 1 starter in the middle of this defense.”
The Chicago Bears have selected first overall twice since the NFL draft was implemented in 1936. They picked Michigan half back Tom Harmon with the first pick in 1941 and Oklahoma A&M back Bob Fenimore in 1947.
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