“There's a lot of red flags” - NFL Analyst breaks down why Jalen Carter’s draft stock is falling despite dominance with Georgia
Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter is one of the best prospects in the 2023 NFL draft. At one point, Carter was projected to go No. 1 overall. However, following his arrest on March 1, Carter's stock has gone down.
Carter was arrested for reckless driving and speeding. Some analysts think he could slide out of the top 10, and potentially out of the first round.
College football analyst and commentator Joel Klatt thinks that Carter has many red flags.
Klatt said:
"I believe that Seattle and Detroit could very easily take Jalen Carter. The problem is there's a lot of red flags with Jalen Carter. Now, his talent might supersede those, if that's the correct term or his talent might outweigh the red flags for some organizations. And he might very well be picked with one of those picks.
"But, you know, you look at the way this process has gone for him and it has not gone well. The off-field issues, obviously, the horrific incident were stemming from the drag racing in which two people lost their lives."
Klatt then questioned Carter's decision to only meet with teams picking in the top 10.
He added:
"That's obviously really tough. And he's right in the middle of that. The pro day goes horribly wrong. Totally out of shape. Overweight, 9 pounds. Got a tap out basically and you know, like; this whole, I'm only going to meet with teams in the top ten, I guess, and I get it."
"And you've got to really believe in yourself. And I know that he's got really reputable people representing him and they know exactly what's going on. And so, listen, is he going to be in my top ten? Yes, I'm going to tell you, he's going to be in my top ten. But those are the reasons why I think that Seattle and Detroit might pass on him."
"There's a lot of red flags with Jalen Carter"
@JoelKlatt explains why he has the Georgia star dropping to No. 9 in his Mock Draft https://t.co/WJpQorB3kf
Jalen Carter is only meeting with top 10 teams ahead of the NFL Draft
Following his arrest, it was announced that Jalen Carter would only be seeking visits with teams picking in the top 10 of the draft.
Carter's agent Drew Rosenhaus said that he feels confident that Carter will go in the top 10.
This could backfire and hurt his draft stock as teams could potentially trade up and think about acquiring him. Since he isn't visiting with teams outside of the top 10, they may think twice about drafting him, which could cause him to slide even further.