NFL draft analysts discuss how Jalen Carter's legal situation could affect his draft stock

ESPN NFL Draft experts Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. agree that Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter is the best player in the 2023 NFL Draft. However, it’s an off-the-field incident that could prevent him from going No. 1 overall.

Carter was arrested and booked in the Athens-Clarke-County jail last week on charges of reckless driving and racing stemming from a fatal crash in January that killed his former Bulldogs teammate Devin Willock and recruiting staff Chandler LeCroy. As a result, McShay dropped Carter to the No. 12 pick in his latest mock draft.

“In Jalen Carter, you’re getting arguably the best player in this draft,” McShay explained in a Tuesday SportsCenter appearance. “When he was healthy late in the season, there was no one more disruptive in the country. But he’s obviously dealing with a recent incident. There’s a lot of character questions there. How far is he gonna fall?”

Carter has since been released on a $4,000 bond. He was allegedly racing LeCroy when the crash occurred. Police have also determined alcohol to be a contributing factor in the crash, and Carter left before they arrived on the scene but returned two hours later. He has an arraignment hearing set for April 18.

Kiper’s latest mock draft, which came out on Feb. 28 before Carter was arrested, has the Georgia defensive lineman going No. 4 overall. However, the ESPN draft expert explained Tuesday that the results of his hearing will ultimately determine how far he falls in the draft.

“I think the April court date will tell us a lot,” he said. “I think you have to wait and see. Everybody’s gonna do their due diligence here. But at the end of the day, I think he could go five to Seattle, seven to Chicago. It would surprise me if he dropped down here. But in the past we’ve seen players who had super high grade (drop). I go back to the mid 90s. I had Warren Sapp as the third or fourth best player in the draft. I believe he went 12th. There were about four or five busts that went ahead of Warren Sapp. Laremy Tunsil dropped. A couple busts went ahead of Laremy Tunsil.

“So are you going to pass on Jalen Carter to take players you’re not really in love with? If Jalen Carter’s good enough to take him at 12, why not take him at five or seven? The best player, I believe, in this draft is Jalen Carter based on football ability. So it’s gonna be interesting to see what happens between now and late April.”

Carter was present at the NFL Combine last week, where he went through interviews with several NFL teams. How those went could also be a determining factor in where he ends up getting drafted.

Carter finished this past season with 32 tackles (seven for loss), three sacks and two forced fumbles as Georgia claimed its second straight national championship. The 2023 NFL Draft is set to take place from Thursday, April 27 through Saturday, April 29 in Kansas City, Missouri.