Jalen Carter top NFL draft prospect wasn’t impressive at pro day today
Jalen Carter, a defensive tackle for Georgia, had other plans for his offseason. Carter entered preparation for the 2023 NFL draft as the draft’s undisputed top defensive tackle and had a chance to impress and move up to the Top Three. However, Carter’s situation has gotten worse as a result of an incident that happened off the field, and its ramifications were still evident during his pro day.
According to Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy, Carter weighed in at the Georgia pro day up nine pounds from the combine and has opted not to do any testing including the 40-yard dash. Carter will only do positional drills.
At the pro day, Jalen Carter, who had previously been projected as the top pick in the April draft, weighed 323 pounds. He chose to forgo participating in the 40-yard dash, cone exercises, and other physical testing in favor of just performing position drills. Carter was cramping and breathing heavily, so he didn’t complete the position drills.
In Georgia’s indoor facility, Jalen Carter worked out in front of scouts and coaches from all 32 NFL teams. There were three head coaches present: Arthur Smith of the Falcons, Matt Eberflus of the Bears, and Mike Tomlin of the Steelers.
With less than a month until the NFL draft, Carter’s draft status is still up in the air. The movie by Carter is excellent. His play and size are compared to players like Chris Jones of Kansas City and Fletcher Cox of Philadelphia by commentators, and based only on his film, some team will acquire a perennial All-Pro. Yet, his off-field worries are valid, and if they affect his football life, teams will understandably be hesitant to select him with a Top 10 pick.
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