Potential top NFL Draft pick Jalen Carter to miss games for Georgia with knee injury

Dropping from No. 1 to No. 2 in the AP Poll isn't the only setback the Georgia Bulldogs suffered this past weekend.

Sure, they're still 5-0 and one of the favorites to win the College Football playoff after making a comeback and defeating Missouri, 26-22 on the road. And yes, they still have one of the most talented teams in the nation -- especially on defense. The Bulldogs have the No. 2 defense in the SEC just behind Alabama, giving up just 264.4 yards per game.

Unfortunately, though, at least for the next few weeks, that elite defense will take quite a hit.

Head coach Kirby Smart told the media on Monday that star defensive tackle Jalen Carter is likely to miss some time with a knee injury he suffered against Mizzou.

At the very least, it sounds like Carter playing in UGA's game against Auburn this weekend is out of the picture.

"We don't know how long it's going to be," Smart said, via ESPN, "but it doesn't look good for this week."

Smart also said that UGA will be without Carter "for a week or two". 

While the Bulldogs are certainly talented and deep enough to continue winning without Carter, they will undoubtedly miss his presence on the defensive line. Carter is a former 5-star recruit, ranked as the No. 9 overall 2020 recruit in the country. 

He was an All-SEC second-team player as a junior and appears to be a consensus top-five pick in the upcoming NFL Draft if he can get healthy.