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Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter is one of the top prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft. The big man had an outstanding career with the Bulldogs and is now a top-five prospect at the next level. To get you ready for the draft at the end of April, here is a Jalen Carter NFL draft profile that includes everything you need to know about the top prospect, including a Jalen Carter scouting report and projections for where he’ll be drafted.
The Georgia defensive tackle’s career so far
This Jalen Carter NFL draft profile will start with the basics. Carter is a 6-foot-3, 300-pound defensive tackle from Apopka, Florida, who played three seasons at Georgia.
Coming out of high school, Carter was a major prospect. According to GeorgiaDogs.com, ESPN pegged him as a four-star prospect and ranked him as the No. 12 prospect nationally, the No. 3 DT in the nation, and the No. 5 prospect in the state of Florida.
Carter made a mark in his first season on campus, playing 10 games and starting two as a true freshman. He even caught a 1-yard touchdown pass that season lining up as a fullback in goal line formations.
During Georgia’s two championship campaigns, in 2021 and 2022, Carter played in 15 and 13 games, respectively, missing just two in 2022 due to an injury. He ended his junior year as first-team All-SEC and on the Associated Press, FWAA, Walter Camp, and Sporting News All-America first teams.
Before declaring for the 2023 NFL Draft, the Jalen Carter at Georgia final college stat line was 38 games played, 83 tackles, 18.5 tackles for a loss, 6.0 sacks, four passed defended, two forced fumbles, and three blocked kicks.
Jalen Carter scouting report
The Georgia defense the last two seasons has been one of the most loaded units in college football history. That can make it hard to distinguish how much individual players contributed to the unit’s success. So, here is a Jalen Carter scouting report ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft.
The reason Carter is mentioned among the top picks of the draft is that he is an elite athlete for his size. He has excellent quickness, immense strength, and surprising speed that lets him track offensive players in the open field.
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Carter also showed great technique and versatility at Georgia. He can get off blocks and fill holes in the run game and pressure the quarterback up the middle with his interior pass-rush moves. The skills for an interior lineman are so developed that Georgia played him all over the defensive line, which is a huge selling point at the next level.
Simply put, Carter was one of the best players in the nation coming out of high school, he excelled from the time he was a freshman on the best defense in the country, and Carter is now the best interior defensive line prospect to come out of college since Aaron Donald.
All that said, Carter does have some things to work on. He can play with a high pad level at times, so linemen can get under him, and at 6-foot-3 and just over 300 pounds, some bigger linemen have had success pushing him around in the running game.
Also, he doesn’t yet have the move set to effectively break double teams on a regular basis. Still, though, all this is improvable at the next level.
Where will Jalen Carter be drafted in the 2023 NFL Draft?
The most important part of any Jalen Carter NFL draft profile is the prediction as to where he will go in the NFL.
With the Jalen Carter scouting report above, it’s easy to see why he is such a coveted pro prospect heading into the 2023 NFL Draft. And while the NFL combine could change things, right now, he looks like a guaranteed top-five pick.
Within the top four of the draft, there are two teams who will have a close eye on Carters. That is the Chicago Bears with the No. 1 pick and the Arizona Cardinals with No. 3. Both teams need help on the defensive line, and it seems like one team will take Alabama EDGE Will Anderson Jr., and the other will take Carter, not necessarily in that order.
The Bears could take Carter as high as No. 1, but they will likely trade out of that spot with a team looking to draft a quarterback. After the Houston Texans also take a QB at No. 3, that will leave the Cardinals with a choice between Carter and Anderson.
If the Cards go with the Alabama pass-rusher, and the Bears are at No. 4 after trading back with the Indianapolis Colts, that’s where Carter will land. And if all else fails, it’s nearly impossible to see Jalen Carter getting past the Seattle Seahawks at No. 5.
