Jalen Carter, a controversial defensive tackle who used to be the speculative top pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, fell to the Eagles as the No. 9 pick.
The All-American, who helped push the Georgia Bulldogs to two consecutive national championships, dealt with legal trouble and off-the-field issues, despite being considered the most talented player in the NFL Draft and listed as a potential No. 1 prospect by multiple analysts.
Following the pick’s announcement by NFL Commissioner Rodger Goodell on Thursday, Carter received a soft amount of cheers, likely due to the controversy.
“I don’t know. It’s a lot,” a teary Carter said to ESPN after being asked about the past few months. “It’s time to work.”
The 22-year-old was hit with misdemeanor reckless driving charges stemming from an alleged drag racing incident after the Bulldogs’ 2022 title parade in which teammate Devin Wilcock and Bulldogs recruiting analyst Chandler LeCroy died in Athens, Ga.
Carter turned himself in during the NFL’s Scouting Combine in early March.
He later pleaded no contested and accepted a plea deal that involved 12 months of probation, a $1,000 fine, 80 hours of community service and finishing a driving course.
A civil lawsuit could also affect Carter.
Carter also received backlash for showing up to Pro Day weighing nine pounds more than he did just a few weeks before the NFL Combine, and the defensive tackle also failed to finish drills.
“He’s one of those players where this is the value of your area scouts and maybe your area cross-checker and certainly your director of college scouting that have gone to the school and have dug deeper into what we can see from the outside,” said Mark Dominik, the former Buccaneers general manager who is now a host on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
“Certainly, the not finishing the Pro Day is not ideal. The drag racing is still under suspicion. We have a director of security that is at every club. Generally, what I would do in this situation is I would send my director of security down there and just dig around the trenches and get a better sense of what is going on.”
Carter landing at the No. 9 pick helped with the lineman and his agent’s bold strategy of only meeting with teams who pick in the top-10 of this year’s draft.
The defensive lineman will add another layer to an already top-ranked defense Eagles team that made the Super Bowl this year and includes his former Georgia teammate Jordan Davis.
“The Eagles got the best player in the draft for sure,” Carter said on the ESPN broadcast. “Day One, when I get there it’s time to work.”
