Jalen Carter Named PFF's Highest Graded Power Five Defender
Georgia has strung together several high-caliber players at defensive tackle over the last couple of seasons. A year ago it was Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt leading the pack and now it's junior Jalen Carter receiving all of the attention.
Carter missed a couple of games this season due to a knee injury, but that didn't stop him from being the most dominant player in the games he did play in. In eleven games this season, Carter has piled up 29 total tackles, seven tackles for loss and three sacks. His powerful play on Saturdays has caught the attention of many football fans and has NFL GMs eager to select him in the upcoming NFL draft. He also received first-team honors for the All-SEC Coach's team and first-team for the AP's All-SEC list.
Pro Football Focus (PFF) announced that Carter was the highest-graded defender in all of power five football to put into perspective how impressive he has been this season.
Mel Kiper recently released his top prospects for the 2023 draft and Carter was listed as the No. 1 prospect for this year's draft class. In Kiper's previous big board, Carter was listed as the second-best prospect only behind Alabama's Will Anderson.
"Georgia had five defenders picked in Round 1 last April, and Carter arguably was more disruptive than all of them in 2021. He's explosive at the snap and finishes well around the ball, even though he didn't put up huge numbers (8.5 tackles for loss). He has a big frame and can play as a 3-technique tackle. He can dominate from the interior," said Kiper.
Before last season, Georgia had gone seven straight years without having a defensive lineman taken in the draft. That streak was put to rest when Travon Walker went first in the 2022 draft. While it currently looks like a quarterback will more than likely be the first off the board in this year's draft, Carter continues to make a strong push for him to be in the running for that spot as well and with how well he will test at the draft combine, those chances will only continue to rise.
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