Get Jalen Carter Fitted for a Gold Jacket

Georgia’s Jalen Carter has faced a lot of off-season drama, some of it is understandable and some of it has been clickbait.

Game film says Carter will end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

I’ve studied Carter in 14 games spanning two seasons. Recently with the article, “Former NFL Scout Defends Jalen Carter with 11 games,” and now I’ve added these 3 games to his evaluation (embedded below).

From the moment I first watched him on 2021 game film, he reminded me of former Vikings’ Hall of Fame defensive tackle, Alan Page.

Point blank – – Carter looks like a man amongst boys in every game I’ve studied. He has so much raw power in his lower body and arms that he can lock out even against double teams.

I’ve never seen a defensive tackle like this in my lifetime.

He’s built like a combination between former Oilers’ great defensive end Sean Jones and current Jets’ defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.

Carter is a rare hybrid who’s about to take over in the NFL.

2023 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

Carter is the best player in this draft.

He’s a game changer who can wreck things whenever he wants to.

If you don’t believe me watch the sequence of these three consecutive plays against TCU in the National Championship Game.

In the first play, he put TCU’s thick guard Steve Avila (6-foot-4, 330 pounds) on skates and drove him back into the quarterback’s face like a snowplow.

Listen, I don’t love many, but I love Calijah Kancey (Pitt), Nolan Smith (Georgia), and Emmanuel Forbes (Mississippi State) on the defensive side of the ball in this draft class, but when I put all of their game film side-by-side in my mind’s eye, Carter takes the prize.

Best defensive tackle in the NFL

The greats pop on game film.

I can’t tell you how many mediocre defensive tackles – – and good ones too that that I’ve seen over the years.

After watching Carter in these 14 games, his combination of strength, quickness and power is unlike anything in the game today.

Remember Randy Moss?

This Tweet came to my attention recently, and it reminded me of Carter’s off-season.

Will teams make the same Moss-sized mistake again because of “Character concerns with Carter?”

These are some of the teams that talked themselves out of Moss and who they drafted instead.

Chargers: QB Ryan Leaf (No. 2)

Cardinals: DE Andre Wadsworth (No. 3)

Bears: RB Curtis Enis (No. 5)

Rams: DE Grant Wistrom (No. 6)

Saints: OT Kyle Turley (No. 7)

Cowboys: DE Greg Ellis (No. 8)

Ravens: DB Duane Starks (No. 10)

Eagles: OT Tra Thomas (No. 11)

Falcons: LB Keith Brooking (No. 12)

Bengals: LB Takeo Spikes (No. 13)

Panthers: DE Jason Peter (No. 14)

Seahawks: LB Anthony Simmons (No. 15)

Titans: WR Kevin Dyson (No. 16)

Bengals: LB Brian Simmons (No. 17)

Patriots: RB Robert Edwards (No. 18)

Packers: DE Vonnie Holliday (No. 19)

Lions: DB Terry Fair (No. 20)

Vikings WR Randy Moss (No. 21)

#88 Jalen Carter 6-foot-3, 300 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s Final 2023 NFL Draft Grade: First-Round (I would select him)

First Round Mock Big Board: No. 1

Bust Probability: Low

Projected by 98.2% (down from 98.4% on March 22) of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of April 11, 2023 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

2022 game film reviewed: Kentucky, Georgia Tech, and TCU (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

Level of Competition: High

2021 stats: 37 tackles (17 solo, 20 assists), 1 pass defended, 3 sacks, and 33 pressures

2022 stats: 32 tackles (16 solo, 16 assists), 3 passes defended, 3 sacks, and 25 pressures

2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Complete defensive tackle with good technique, quickness, and equally distributed explosive power. Ripped upper body. Stout lower and thick calves to hunker down and hold his ground. Methodical brute force of nature who paces himself. Looks like the most dominant player on the field even getting into his stance. Versatile. Moves all along the line testing matchups. Even stands up at times on the edge. Draws double teams, which frees up teammates. Active and uses his hands well at the point. Has ability to extend with ease creating separation from blockers. Signature fast swim move. Stunts. Shoots gaps. Can also stall out. Stays true to assignments. Can crash in and destroy running plays. Not every time, but enough of the time.

Final words

Carter is generational.

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He currently writes for Sports Illustrated New York Jets and he is the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. He can be followed on Twitter @firstroundmock.