2023 NFL Draft: Jalen Carter won't visit with teams picking outside top 10, plans to attend draft
Carter's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, is confident he will be picked in the top 10 of the upcoming NFL Draft.
Jalen Carter, former Georgia defensive tackle and likely NFL draftee, announced through his agent on Monday that he is declining to meet with any teams picking outside the top 10 in the NFL Draft.
“I’m confident Jalen will go in the top 10,” Carter's agent Drew Rosenhaus said via Adam Schefter. “He’s a good person, a family man, loves football and is a generational talent.”
According to Schefter, Carter most recently met with the Philadelphia Eagles, who are picking at No. 10, and going on a second visit with the Chicago Bears, who are picking at No. 9, on Monday. Even though the Las Vegas Raiders have the No. 7 pick, they reportedly won't be drafting Carter due to the comparisons to Henry Ruggs III.
Schefter also reported that Carter has been invited to the draft on April 27 and plans to attend.
Carter, 21, won the national championship with Georgia in January. Shortly after, Carter was involved in a fatal car crash that killed Georgia offensive lineman Devin Willock and team staffer Chandler LeCroy. According to police, both cars were driving at speeds close to 100 mph and were allegedly street racing. A warrant was issued for Carter's arrest on March 2, while he was at the NFL scouting combine.
Two weeks later, Carter's lawyer told The Athletic that they'd reached a deal with prosecutors. Carter pleaded no contest to charges of racing and reckless driving, both misdemeanors, and received 12 months of probation, a $1,000 fine and 80 hours of community service.
Carter's draft stock has dropped a bit since the end of Georgia's season. He didn't do any drills at the combine or speak to the media, and a warrant was issue for his arrest while he was there. Then he had a disastrous showing at Georgia's pro day, showing up nine pounds heavier than he had two weeks earlier at the combine, and struggling to finish positional drills, which were the only drills he chose to participate in.
Despite that, he's still expected to go high in the first round. Rosenhaus is so convinced that it will happen that he's got Carter focusing entirely on teams that pick inside the top 10. What happens if a team Carter hasn't met with trades up into the top 10? We'll have to wait and find out.
