NFL
By Jalen Willingham
Jalen Carter has been under much scrutiny and criticism lately, but that should not disqualify him too much from teams around the NFL. The Atlanta Falcons should not miss out on such a great talent despite his recent shortcomings.
Carter was an All-SEC and an All-American during his time at Georgia while also playing alongside former first-round picks Travon Walker, Jordan Davis, and Devonte Wyatt. During his three years in the Bulldog defense, Carter had 83 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, and two forced fumbles. His own head coach at UGA, Kirby Smart, has called him a generational talent.
The Atlanta Falcons have been very busy this offseason and have had great free-agent signings all around. On just the defensive side of the football, they brought in former All-Pro safety Jessie Bates, linebackers Kaden Elliss and Tae Davis, cornerbacks Cornell Armstrong and Mike Hughes, and defensive lineman David Onyemata, Eddie Goldman, Joe Gaziano, and Calais Campbell just recently.
Atlanta could take either a cornerback or a pass rusher with the eighth pick. When it comes to the Georgia prospects, it could also be between Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith. It’s important to note that the Falcons biggest weakness on defense was their pass rush and the lack of talent up front outside of Grady Jarrett. The trenches have needed that extra boost for many years at this point. Atlanta’s pass rush tallied just 21 sacks in 2022. The year before that in 2021 was 18 and 29 in 2020. They haven’t had more than 30 sacks in a season since 2018 and haven’t had a 40-sack season since 2004. Carter would be a game-changer for this defense.
Jalen Carter was once looked at as the top prospect in this draft class. His sky-high potential makes him the perfect player to build a front seven around. Unfortunately for him and organizations around the league, many things have gone wrong since. Being involved in the death of his former UGA teammate followed by showing up to his Pro Day nine pounds overweight and not being able to finish drills has caused much controversy and has even caused certain teams to take him completely off their draft board. I still believe that Carter will go top 10 however.
With all of this to account for, the idea of an elite prospect such as Carter having both Grady Jarrett and Calais Campbell as his mentor would be fantastic. I think that would help a ton with fixing his attitude problems as well. Atlanta could potentially have one of the best interior defensive lines in the NFL after going many years without a viable pass rush. In the game of football, especially in the passer-friendly game of today, you can never go wrong with a pass rush. Add in a secondary that has AJ Terrell and Jessie Bates, and the Falcons could have a defense that is a force to be reckoned with for many years to come.
