2023 NFL Draft Player Profiles: Army EDGE Andre Carter II

From now until the 2023 NFL Draft takes place, we hope to scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top 10 picks, all the way down to Day 3 selections and priority undrafted free agents. Today, I’ll be profiling Army EDGE Andre Carter II.

#34 Andre Carter II, EDGE, Army (SR) – 6064, 256LBS

Senior Bowl, NFL Combine

Measurements

The Good

— Excellent burst off the LOS
— Has a handful of pass rush move options: rips, swims, long arm bull rushes and a spin move
— Noticeably sets up tackles for moves later in the game
— Comfortable dropping into coverage
— Athletically, he’s at a fringe-freak territory on film – has fluid hips, great lower body explosion
— Shows signs to develop a quality bend around the edge

The Bad

— Quite raw at the position, leading to several fundamental errors in his game
— While his size profile is intriguing and could prove to be valuable with time and effort, he’s too lean at the moment
— Far too passive in the run game, moves backward far too often
— Really struggles to locate the football and preserve gap integrity on run plays
— Looks indecisive when diagnosing a play
— Struggles to find an exit path once a blocker gets into his frame
— Stands too tall in his stance and too often plays too tall
— Lacks hand explosion in his power moves
— Not a great tackler
— Massive production drop from 2021 to 2022
— Combine performance was rather average compared to the athleticism he displays on film

Bio

— Birthday: June 2, 2000 (22 years old)
— Zero-star recruit out of high school in Texas
— Played wide receiver and tight end in high school, moving to edge linebacker at Army
— Career Stats: 99 tackles, 25.5 for loss with 20 sacks (15.5 in 2021 alone). Also had seven pass deflections, two interceptions, five forced fumbles and a recovery plus two blocked kicks.
— Will serve Army commitment after football career at Fort Sill as a Field Artillery Officer

Tape Breakdown

Likely to be the highest-drafted service academy prospect in decades, Andre Carter II is a raw edge backer, but a superior athlete on the gridiron. His biggest value to his draft stock is without a doubt his quick grasp of pass rushing technique and application with the potential to grow into a prominent piece of any defensive puzzle.

Having recorded 15.5 sacks in 2021, Carter really demanded attention from the NFL. While his production dropped dramatically in 2022, his film displays a promising starting point to groom him into something truly special on the edge.

Having only played edge linebacker for four years, his arsenal of pass rush moves is a welcome surprise. These three reps show off a jab-step and swim against Georgia State, a long arm and rip against Coastal Carolina and a bend around the hoop against Wake Forrest.

Carter is at his best when he has his ears pinned back to rush the passer. He comes to the LOS with a plan and more often than not executes it well. Because his stance is high, though, he often plays too high as well, leaving him susceptible to chips by backs and tight ends that can completely destroy his pass rush attempts.

Still, he seems to understand the chess match between edge and tackle and can set up his opposition for moves later in the game. Against Coastal Carolina, Carter often attacked the outside edge with a bend or rip. Late in the contest, he hit both offensive tackles with a spin move each. The clip below shows the cleaner effort of the two.

You’ll notice in each of his pass rush attempts, Carter has a great burst off the snap. He gets up the field quickly and uses his long arms to keep separation between he and the tackle. He often uses his lower half to complement the attack his arms will make to shed the block. It’s impressive how naturally he rushes the passer.

His pure athleticism wasn’t displayed at the NFL Combine this week, which is puzzling because on film it’s one of his most pure traits. Check out this play against Wake Forrest as Carter spies the QB, plants his foot as the QB begins to scramble and explodes to the runner, closing quickly and washing him out of bounds.

He’s comfortable dropping into coverage too. He flips his hips smoothly and gets out to his zone with urgency. You can see an example of it below against Georgia State. That said, he’s quite unreliable in coverage, lacking the lateral movement skills and experience to stay with assignments and make plays on the ball – granted he takes up a lot of space with his frame. Probably not wise to test him in the flats.

It becomes increasingly obvious just how raw Carter is when you watch him defend the run. Bluntly put, he’s pretty lost fundamentally out there.

This play against Coastal Carolina really frustrated me. Sure, he has the athleticism to get in the backfield and meet the quarterback at the mesh point. That’s great if he makes the play. Fundamentally speaking, he should be wrong-arming the pulling tight end. The tight end heads upfield once he sees Carter so deep in the backfield. As Carter arrives at the mesh point, he attacks the back side rather than front side and completely whiffs on both players. Because he attacked so aggressively in the wrong way, there was no edge presence allowing this play that should have been a loss to go for a good chunk of yardage. Sure, the QB salvaged a broken play, but it really should have been completely blown up.

Carter really struggles to tackle, as evidenced in that clip. He often bends at the waist and fails to completely wrap up, slinging his legs or hoping to drop his weight on the ball carrier. Despite his size advantages, he struggles to square up ball carriers and put his chest on them and drive with his hips.

He also struggles to track the ball. Here against Coastal Carolina, Carter explodes inside and gets great penetration. But he either never sees the ball carrier as he goes right by him or fails to react to the play quickly enough to disengage properly. Luckily another Army defender is there to clean up the play for a loss.

This extends to indecisiveness as he’s reading a play. Watch here against Wake Forrest as Carter buzzes his feet backward as he’s diagnosing. Once he sees the running back has the ball, Carter creeps inside, losing edge contain in the process. The back bounces the run and outruns Carter to the boundary just short of a first down.

How about in the trenches? On this play against Coastal Carolina, Carter squares up with the tight end. He gets a solid burst, gets his hands inside and initially controls the blocker, but he never locates the football and doesn’t get his outside arm and leg free to keep his gap integrity, which is where the back runs to. Again, luckily another Army defender is there to meet the back for no gain.

While those clips are a big reason why Carter won’t be a day one pick, he’s coachable. The Wake Forrest game is later in the season and you can see on this play that he’s starting to get his run responsibilities a bit better with more experience. On this play, he initially gets himself inside, diagnoses the play, gets back outside with his arm and leg free forcing the back inside. Because he kept solid separation on the tackle, he’s able to get back inside to make the tackle for minimal gain.

Conclusion

While Carter doesn’t have any established connections to the Steelers, at least publicly, I don’t think he’s a bad option for the team to try to fill that third edge backer role and to groom should Alex Highsmith not be re-signed for whatever reason. He’s raw, but he’s got a lot of tools to work with and will be free to fill out his frame in an NFL weight room – something he was limited from at Army West Point.

Carter was once believed to be a possible first-round pick. In my eyes, his deficiencies against the run alone are too much to consider him in that space. That doesn’t even take fully into account his puzzling Combine numbers, which I personally don’t weigh too heavily. He needs to be developed as an all-around player while he earns reps on passing downs to fill out his pass rushing skills. It may take a season or two to get him to where he needs to be to be effective, but once he’s there he’ll be a really solid player.

Projection: Late Day 2

Depot Draft Grade: 7.6 – Potential Starter/Good Backup (3rd Round)

Games Watched: Georgia State ‘21, Coastal Carolina ‘22, Wake Forrest ‘22