Getty Image / David Becker
There was once a time when Jalen Carter was among the top prospects in this year’s NFL Draft.
He was a sure thing to be selected early in the draft and was looked at as a player that could be a huge difference maker at the NFL level.
That has changed since the NFL Combine,
An off-field issue and a brutal Pro Day have raised some major questions about Carter as a prospect and really hurt his draft stock.
He talked to Bryant Gumbel on Real Sports and revealed that he is expecting it to cause him to fall a bit in this year’s NFL Draft.
Tonight on #RealSports, NFL agent Drew Rosenhaus on his controversial top draft pick, University of Georgia star Jalen Carter. Stream it on @hbomax. pic.twitter.com/9D2lNQ6AOe
— Real Sports (@RealSportsHBO) April 18, 2023
Carter said, “Yeah, I feel like it’s gonna matter a little bit. Because, you know, NFL teams look deep into your life. But it could’ve been something I did back in elementary [school]. You know, I’m pretty sure they’d know. So you know, this coming out at the time it did come out I’m pretty sure is going to affect a little bit.”
There was a time when some analysts thought the Chicago Bears should take Carter 1st overall if they didn’t trade the pick. Unfortunately that time was two months before the draft and things haven’t gone so well for him since.
Between his off-field issues, lack of athletic testing during the offseason, weight gain, and disappointing Pro Day, there has been a whole lot has gone wrong for Carter in pre-draft process and not much that has gone right.
Carter definitely isn’t in the conversation for the top pick anymore and isn’t really even brought up in the top 5 anymore.
However, there could still be a team in the top 15 willing to look past everything that has happened since the combine and draft Carter based purely on the talent the showed at Georgia.
We’ll jut have to wait and see if that is actually the case and who ends up being the team to give Carter a chance at this year’s NFL Draft.