Jalen Carter - Early Scouting Report

     

Jalen Carter - Georgia

Overview:

Strengths:

1. Power Rush vs. Pass - Carter can reliably collapse the pocket by driving his opponent back when he is not doubled.

2. Rip Past Guard through A-Gap from 3-Tech - Many times throughout the tape, Carter is able to scoot by the guard with a quick rip after an explosive first step. He usually finds success shooting the A gap, but this works effectively on either the guard or tackle towards the B gap as well.

3. Strength - The former all-state weightlifter and multisport athlete has an incredible amount of play strength, which he often uses to overcome any technique disadvantage on any given play.

Weaknesses:

1. Bend - While bend is not as important for interior defensive linemen, it is still a weaker area of Carter's game. When getting pushed past the pocket, he is too upright to cut back inside. He also is not as efficient when he does go outside of the tackle.

2. Motor - He occasionally makes a second move when the first one fails, but he is not expending energy when he deems it unnecessary. This may be a result of poor conditioning, as his fourth quarter tape does not have as many strong bull rushes despite him rotating frequently with Davis and Wyatt. It is difficult to know exactly why, but he does not have that relentless motor that is so highly coveted in the NFL.

3. Versatility - Carter is an inside guy only. He can nose and 3t effectively, but he should not play outside. The only success he has really had outside is getting skinny and shooting the B gap on inside moves from 4t. He lacks the bend, closing speed, and finesse to play outside.

Grade: Early First

Carter could easily go in the first five picks of the 2023 NFL Draft, but he is not quite there yet. A bit more technique refinement throughout this upcoming season will catapult his draft stock.

Film:

Alabama CFP (1/10/2022)

Very strong, got into pocket quickly verses RT. Powerful bull rusher. 0t, center got hand position inside under his arms. Strongest from 3t. Excellent first step. Good acceleration, but bend could use some work. Swim gets right past guard in man. Excellent swim. Can back push a double team back. Much better at taking on blocks on passing plays than in the run. Does a good job maneuvering around lineman, even from nose. Offside. Needs to work on getting push in run game, which is surprising given his strength. Often doubled. Excellent pressure against inside run where he simply overpowered the right guard. Usually the first DT off the line, but not always. Good rip. 1t, great pressure around the center. Consistently can beat Ekiyor at guard. Got pushed over backwards on conversion. Excellent swim from nose over center. Closed gap well after he pushed back Chris Owens. Collapses the pocket well when not doubled. Effective initial spin move. Great power up the middle. Does not have bend or closing speed outside of the tackles, which is why he was primarily 0t and 3t, with only one snap the entire game at 5t. He is a true pocket collapser when not doubled.

Michigan (12/31/2021)

Did not get push against the run, but still made it to the gap. Not meant to play outside. Good swim on double. Shoots the B gap well. Had to beat three guys to get to the quarterback. Carter is embarrassing Zinter. Very strong pass-rusher. Requires a double team. Relatively quick around the tackle, but not his forte. Offsides. Excellent swims and rips overall. Poor bend when getting pushed beyond the quarterback. Not as good lining up over the tackle. Made second attempt once first move failed. Used length advantage well.

Kentucky (10/16/2021)

Excellent TFL, blowing right by the guard. Uses the same rip to get by the guard again. Gets penetration as nose. Simply stronger than the offensive linemen. Not the most agile player on the line. Powerful bull rush. Got by guard and center for pressure (Seen Below). Great angle to make sideline tackle. Got by a triple team just by being stronger and ripping. Great pull on the center to stop the draw. Cannot really attempt to take the edge. Good second effort spin move to occupy two linemen. Slowing down later into the game. Was not really getting any sort of push in most of the fourth quarter.

Auburn (10/2/2021)

Not the quickest first step. Good motor to drive Nix out of the pocket. Good second move to get pressure again. Poor closing speed, as expected. Locked up on multiple plays. Best in 3t, gets right by guard for TFL. Lower effort once the quarterback is outside of the pocket. Rip almost always gets him by the guard. Excellent first step to get by the guard without even making a move. Excellent rep lining up over tackle and getting skinny inside, even though he missed the sack. He always wins over guards in one-on-one situations. Does not get the outside on a tackle effectively. Strong violent hands to push the guard back into the pocket. Gets past guard and center on the same move. Excellent pressure, but slow closing speed as usual. Good sack on lengthy play after getting doubled.

Starting Position:

A-Gap

Carter lines up as a NT a fair amount, and does quite well overall. He has more reps at nose where he gets locked up against the pass than he does at 3t, even when only against one man. Carter does have some reps where he wins with swims and rips, but it appears that he is more playing for the scheme with some of his movements on the line than he is for himself. He would need to gain some weight to play exclusively at nose in the NFL as he gets pushed on some run plays, but that would be a waste of his skillset.

B-Gap

Awful. Austin is too small and weak to fight through contact. He can overcome some contact by avoiding a direct jam with quick movements, but it will slow his route down regardless.

4/5-Tech

While he has some decent reps over the tackle, he is not meant to play outside. If he gets drafted to a team who plays 3-4, he will most likely play nose unless he makes some significant improvements to that part of his game this upcoming season.

Edge

He will never play here. He is slow in the open field, and has zero reps in coverage in the four games observed.

Pass-Rush Moves:

Rip

Carter's rip is absolutely a 10/10. He uses it effectively to completely mitigate guards on so many plays. It is his most common move in pass-rush, and finds the most success when lined up in 2t or 3t. He is efficient with his arms and has good hand placement, allowing him to make moves on multiple offensive lineman in the same play. It does not look particularly polished, but he usually just knows what to do in certain situations. Another year in Georgia with the starting role should do wonders for his technique.

Swim

He does not swim frequently, but it is very effective when he chooses to do so. He is good at getting skinny inside to create pressure up the middle, and his swim may allow him to step into the pocket while doubled. He would probably see success using a swim more when rushing, but his rip is just so effective.

Bull Rush

His bull rush appears solid, but it could be so much better consistently. Carter can move people, but he generally keeps his pad levels too high. He comes up early on plays frequently, losing leverage and not pushing linemen weaker than he is back as efficiently as he could (which is also why he has some losing reps in the run game). Hand position is hit or miss depending on the play, and does not get the inside track to the shoulder pads on every attempt. His strength is a big part of his game, and learning how to optimize his play strength through hand placement and overall technique will likely result in Carter becoming a top 10 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Spin

While his spin move appears effective, it generally takes too long. He will get around guys on the line, then not reaccelerate quickly enough to have an effect the play. The move itself works, but he will have to make some adjustments for it to be consistently effective.

Blocking:

Willingness

Austin will get in the way haphazardly, but does not frequently commit to the block.

Technique

When squared up to the corner, his technique could be worse. At 172lbs, it hardly matters as defenders can run straight through him regardless of technique. He might slow down corners if he puts in more effort, but technique does nothing if he does not commit to the block.

Attributes:

Attributes		Grade (/10)	Notes
Attributes	Bend	2	Practically no bend on the outside.
	Burst	8	Frequently the first tackle off of the line, but could certainly improve. Hs first step is really good for someone of his size, but he will need to work on making it elite if he wants to be a top draft pick. He has the explosiveness to do so, he just needs to show his high-end burst more consistently before this grade can be a 9+/10. His closing speed in the backfield is rather poor, so he may need some conditioning in his final season at Georgia.
	Motor	6	He does everything he needs with his first move, but is by no means relentless. He is still a factor in extended plays, and even has a sack outside of the pocket, but he slows down significantly about three or four seconds into most plays. There are also instances of him giving up on chasing someone down if he does not have the perfect angle, but that is probably a good decision on his part if he thinks that exerting that effort will hinder his performance on the upcoming plays.
Skillset	Pass-Rush	9.5	He always manages to find his way into the pocket when not doubled, and even sometimes when doubled. He is a true pass-rushing defensive tackle.
	Run Defense	6.5	Does not penetrate slant blocks on outside runs well. Loses leverage due to pad level staying too high. Does have some high-end plays resulting in TFLs, but he will need to fix these glaring issues in the upcoming season.
	Coverage	0	No snaps in coverage observed.
Hands	Placement	7.5	If this reaches a 9+/10, then he could easily be a top 10 pick. He plays well by feel and has incredible hand placement at times, especially on rips, but it is inconsistent.
	Effectiveness / Quickness	9	He frequently blows by guards or pushes them back in one-on-one situations. This is because whether he decides to go around them or plow through them, he knows how to use his hands. A bit more aggressiveness and violence would help increase his percentage of valuable reps, but that should come to him with more playing time in his final collegiate season. His hands are lightning fast. This is how he is able to swipe linemen out of his way so quickly.
Line Control	Play Strength	8.5	Carter is incredibly strong, but needs to show more dominance and high-end reps against the run for this grade to be a 9+/10. This will come more from pad level and hand placement than it will from the weight room.
	Balance	6	Falls down more than he probably should. This can be corrected with technique.
Pass-Rush Decisions	Awareness	9	Playing by feel has its perks. He always seems to know how to get by the opposing guards. Diagnosing the play and adjusting accordingly could use a bit of work, but he overall is a very aware player when it comes to selecting a pass-rush move.
	Technique	7	While his technique is unpolished, it is still good overall. He has some inconsistencies with hand placement and pad level, but he has the raw technique and athleticism to learn more throughout next season.
	Execution	9	As one of the best collegiate defensive tackles in the country, his execution is great. It can get better, but the pass-rush moves are generally quite effective, even when technique is imperfect.
Traits	Agility	5	This grade is difficult to assess. He can get skinny inside an get around guards as needed, but his pure lateral agility is quite poor. This limits him to an inside role only, where he has enough agility to perform his pass-rush moves very effectively.
	Athleticism	8.5	Jalen Carter is clearly an athlete. He has an impressive history as a basketball player and competitive weightlifter, with a 395lbs bench and 320lbs clean and jerk in high school. His play strength is apparent, and he has very little fat on him for someone standing at 6'3" 310lbs. The reason this is not a 10/10 is because his conditioning and finesse appear to be holding him back on his tape. He should be a bit more tenacious as a former tight end and multi-sport athlete, but he fizzles out on some plays. He claims to be the hardest worker on the field, but he will need to back that up in his senior season so that he can become the athlete that he was built to be.
	Length	6.5	Carter does not win with length, although there are some reps of him using his posture to increase his effective length and make first contact. This generally leads to a pull-push move, but he does not choose to do that frequently. He appears to possess exactly average length for a defensive tackle, and he works well with what he has.

Full Report:

Carter almost always wins one-on-one reps against guards in the SEC. He is strong, and has an incredible rip that is practically unblockable by any one man on passing plays. He is already considered by many to be the best interior defensive lineman at Georgia, despite splitting time with Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt. He has reps where his first step is elite, followed by plays where it is on par or slower than the other lineman. If he can condition himself to have the explosive first step that he generally shows early in the game to be consistent throughout all four quarters, then he may become one of the most explosive 3-techs in the NFL. His rip and swim moves are excellent, and he has a nasty bull rush. That said, he has inconsistencies with hand placement and pad level, often finding his arms outside of the offensive lineman's frame and staying more upright. He currently overcomes this with brute strength, but he will need to become more consistent with his technique if he wants to be a top 10 NFL draft pick. There are no inherent weaknesses in his game, but he can certainly acquire better balance and effectiveness against the run. This should come with more reps as he projects to step into a full-time role on the Georgia defensive front. He has the traits to become a near-perfect interior defensive line prospect, but will need to polish most areas of his game throughout his final collegiate year.

NFL Projection:

Carter will improve drastically throughout his senior season, despite already being considered elite. His technique, conditioning, and even strength will all improve, and he will be a top 5 non-quarterback selected in the 2023 NFL draft in a star-studded class. He will play 3t, and make a difference in his rookie season.