Today, one of the best prospects in this year’s NFL Draft, Jalen Carter, received an arrest warrant for reckless driving and racing on the night his teammate Devin Willock and Georgia staffer Chandler LeCroy died in January. Because of this new information, Carter’s draft stock could take a hit, an aspect reflected in recent mock drafts.
In fact, in a CBS Sports mock draft released today Carter fell all the way from a top five pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers at 17.
From an on-field perspective, the chance to grab Carter at 17 would be a steal but he now comes with with serious off-field questions. Author Chris Trapasso, though, believes if any team is a good fit to handle Carter’s situation, it’s the Steelers.
“The Steelers stop the Carter fall and feel they have the right coaching structure and locker room to handle everything that will come with making this selection,” wrote Trapasso.
In response to today’s news, Carter tweeted this statement earlier, denying all allegations and saying he’s returning to Athens to clear his name.
https://twitter.com/breadmanjalen/status/1630994706795581440
Head coach Mike Tomlin and the Steelers organization has handle some sticky situations in the past. Most notably former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s rape allegations, to aspects of lesser issues involving Martavis Bryant and his suspensions due to marijuana, Le’Veon Bell’s contract hold out, and the many actions of Antonio Brown.
Getting Carter would be double-edged sword. On one hand he could be a generational talent and is projected to be a top five pick. Carter was arguably the best player on both of Georgia’s back-to-back National Championship winning teams. On the other hand, his name is now tied to the death of a teammate and Georgia staffer. For the foreseeable future, all questions and conversations about him will center on that, not what he’s done between the white lines.
Given the charges against Carter are only misdemeanors, jail time for him is unlikely, and if he is jailed Georgia law states he cannot be jailed for more than a year. This situation he is in right now will not end his NFL career before it started, but the question remains on if team’s will want to take on the baggage that will be coming with Carter. If he is 17, does Pittsburgh pull the trigger on taking a generational talent? If Carter does drop that far it will certainly be interesting to see what the Steelers do.
