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The Pittsburgh Steelers took a risk on Day 2 of the 2022 NFL draft by picking Georgia wide receiver George Pickens. Now with less than two months until April’s 2023 NFL draft, CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso has predicted the Steelers to roll the dice again on another Georgia star.
Trapasso projected Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, who experts widely consider a top-5 player in the 2023 class, to fall to the Steelers at pick No. 17.
“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,” Trapasso wrote on March 1.
Pro Football Focus has Carter ranked as the No. 2 overall player in the 2023 draft. In a mock draft from The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner on February 28, Carter went No. 1 overall to the Chicago Bears.
But Carter’s stock is suddenly dropping in mock drafts because the Georgia star for his potential involvement in a fatal car crash that killed a teammate and a Georgia recruiting staff member.
2 Arrest Warrants Issued Against Jalen Carter
The Athens-Clarke County Police Department issued two arrest warrants on March 1 — confirmed by The Athletic’s Seth Emerson to be misdemeanors — which alleged that Carter raced his Jeep against 24-year-old Georgia recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy.
LeCroy and Carter’s teammate, Georgia offensive lineman Devin Willock, were killed in an off-campus accident in Athens on January 15, 2023. The accident occurred hours after the Bulldogs celebrated their second consecutive national championship with a parade and ceremony at Sanford Stadium.
ESPN reported that details from a police investigation, which became public on March 1, alleging that Carter and LeCroy were “operating their vehicles in a manner consistent with racing.” The car LeCroy was driving was moving faster than 100 MPH before the accident.
A toxicology report revealed that Leroy’s blood alcohol concentration was .197, which is more than twice the legal limit in Georgia.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that at least two vehicles driven by Georgia football players were at the scene, including Carter’s Jeep, but the vehicles left before the police arrived. The AJC also reported that when Carter spoke to the police, his story about the incident shifted.
Police pronounced Willock dead at the scene. LeCroy died after arriving at the hospital.
Carter was scheduled to speak to reporters on March 1, but his media availability was canceled, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Carted released a statement on Twitter addressing his arrest warrant, writing that he expects to be “fully exonerated of any criminal wrongdoing.”
Steelers Land ‘Complete Prospect’ Jalen Carter in CBS Mock Draft
It’s too early to tell what the full impact of Carter’s arrest warrants will be on his draft stock.
If he’s cleared of all wrongdoing as he expects, Carter could become a steal. That’s because there’s no denying his talent.
“Carter is as good a DT prospect as we’ve seen since we started grading college in 2014,” wrote the PFF draft scouting team. “A complete prospect.”
The Steelers have a need along their defensive line. Landing a talent such as Carter could immediately turn one of the team’s biggest weaknesses into a strength.
But if Carter does fall outside the top 15, it will be because selecting him comes with additional risk. The last thing the Steelers or any NFL team wants is another Henry Ruggs situation.
The Las Vegas Raiders selected Ruggs in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft. But midway through his second season, Ruggs was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and/or controlled or prohibited substance resulting in the death of another driver, Tina Tintor.
The Raiders immediately released Ruggs. On May 4, a Las Vegas judge will decide “if enough evidence exists to process with the state’s prosecution.”
Generally, teams view players with first-round draft grades with a higher likelihood of success in the league. Players with risk, even very talented prospects, often go in the second round or beyond.
If Carter is still in legal trouble at the end of April, it might be a stretch to consider the Georgia defensive tackle as a first-round target for the Steelers.
Pittsburgh was willing to take a risk on Pickens in the second round, but the risk of selecting Pickens was related to his injury history and maturity. That’s quite different than the situation Carter faces.
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