Vikings UDFA Profile: Army EDGE Andre Carter II
Last month, Inside the Vikings broke down 13 members of Minnesota's 2023 undrafted free agent class. Now it's time to get to the two stars of the class.
Vikings UDFA profile: Army EDGE Andre Carter II
- Size: 6'6", 256
- RAS: 6.29
- 2022 stats: 41 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks, 2 PD
Andre Carter II is right there with Ivan Pace Jr. as one of the headliners of the Vikings' UDFA class — and one of the most notable UDFA signings made by any team this year. Minnesota had to shell out a whopping $340,000 in guaranteed money to land him, which is a massive figure for an undrafted player. PFF ranked Carter as their No. 2 UDFA this year, behind only Pace, his new teammate.
Carter didn't see the field as a freshman at Army and played only sparingly as a sophomore. Then, almost out of nowhere, he put together an incredible breakout season as a junior in 2021. Carter set a school record with 15.5 sacks that season, finishing second in the nation behind Will Anderson Jr. from Alabama, this year's No. 3 overall draft pick. He also had an interception and four forced fumbles and was named an All-American.
Heading into the 2022 season, Carter was receiving some buzz as a possible first-round pick, but that hype evaporated when he couldn't follow up his breakout campaign. Seeing more attention from opposing offenses, his numbers fell off in 2022. Combine that with Carter's thin frame and lack of ideal strength or explosiveness, and the still-surprising result was that he went undrafted.
The selling points with Carter are his length, lateral quickness, and the elite pass rushing production he showed in 2021. Even last season, he still earned a strong 82.1 pass-rushing grade from PFF. It's just going to take time for him to be ready to contribute in the NFL; he needs to live in the weight room and add muscle mass to his lanky frame.
Carter certainly isn't a sure thing. But he seems likely to make the Vikings' 53-man roster this year so he can develop without the risk of a team poaching him off the practice squad. If he can fill out his frame and hone his pass rush moves and counters, Carter could quickly become a part of Minnesota's long-term plans at outside linebacker.
"We felt like we gained an extra draft pick with him, we really did," Kevin O'Connell said.
Vikings' offseason outside linebacker depth chart
- Danielle Hunter (for now)
- Marcus Davenport
- D.J. Wonnum
- Patrick Jones II
- Luiji Vilain
- Andre Carter II (rookie)
- Curtis Weaver
- Benton Whitley
Other Vikings UDFA profiles
Georgia Southern CB NaJee Thompson
North Carolina State WR Thayer Thomas
Southeastern Louisiana WR/QB Cephus Johnson III
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