Jalen Carter goes No. 1 overall in Mel Kiper's mock draft
Mock draft season is well underway the most recent from the most notable name in the sport has a Georgia player going No. 1 for the second straight year. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has Bulldog defensive tackle Jalen Carter being picked first by Chicago.
“I thought long and hard about a trade here, with the Colts, Raiders and Panthers as the top candidates to move up for a quarterback,” Kiper writes. “And if I’m Chicago general manager Ryan Poles and I can move down a few spots, add premium picks and still get my choice of the best defensive prospects, I’d make a deal. It takes two teams to make a trade, however, and that’s never a guarantee. For now, let’s stick with the Bears keeping this pick.
“Chicago’s roster needs help from top to bottom, but its defense was particularly dreadful in 2022, ranking last in the league in sacks (20) and points allowed per game (27.2). It has to be D all the way for wherever the Bears make their selection. Carter, an explosive interior pass-rusher and run-stuffer, gets the nod over Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. on my Big Board. He’s the best player in this draft, a Day 1 starter in the middle of this defense.”
Carter is also the No. 1 player on Kiper’s big board. The former five-star prospect was dinged up early in the year, not making much of an impact until Georgia played Tennessee on November 5. He turned it on from there and impressed Kiper down the stretch.
“I moved Carter to No. 1 overall in my December update, and he finished the season playing the best ball of his career,” Kiper says in a different article. “He had 12 quarterback pressures in his last three games for the back-to-back national champs, showing that he can wreck games from the interior. Carter was fantastic after he returned in late October from missing two games because of a knee issue. Check out this show of force in the SEC title game against LSU. Georgia had five defenders picked in Round 1 last April, and Carter arguably was more disruptive than all of them in 2021. He’s explosive at the snap and finishes well around the ball, even though he has just six career sacks. Carter is in the conversation for the top pick — if the Bears keep it.”
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Other than Carter…
Only one other Bulldog got the first-round nod from Kiper and it’s the only other Georgia player on his top 25 big board. That guy is Broderick Jones.
The Lithonia High School product has just one full season as a starter under his belt but he does have 19 career starts. He has played significant minutes in several other games, including the 2022 College Football Playoff Championship game against Alabama.
Jones came in at left tackle, allowing Jamaree Salyer to play right guard. The Bulldog offense took off from there and Georgia beat Bama 33-18 to break a 41-year National Title drought.
Georgia had five players, all on the defensive side of the ball, picked in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. That includes Travon Walker going No. 1 overall to Jacksonville.
