Height: 6’6″

Weight: 252lbs

Position: EDGE

Year: Senior

Grades

Explosiveness		55
Pass Rush Plan		45
First Step		50
Strength/Power		60
Run Defense		40
Motor		60
Tackling/Pursuit		50
Bend		40
Frame		65
Versatility		40

Ceiling/80:

55

Total:	6.41
Round Grade:	4th

Summary

Army draft prospect Andre Carter II is a very interesting film evaluation. He is 6’6″, with great length and a frame that looks like it would really benefit from adding some weight to the lanky frame. With the Army’s weight requirements for players and cadets, it leads to questions about what Carter’s actual playing weight should be. I’m sure an NFL strength coach is licking his chops waiting to be able to get their hands on filling out Carter’s frame, which is why he got the 65 rating from me. (Any questions about the grading scale can hopefully be answered here.)

But in terms of on the field traits and aspects, Carter is unique. As a pass rusher he seems to work best from a wide 9 alignment, allowing him to gain an extra step to gain some speed and power before initiating contact with opposing offensive linemen. From the wide 9, Carter brings a powerful bull rush that drives tackles back. But when he is lined up from a 5 tech or even as a standard pass rushing OLB, he loses a lot of his power and tends to get caught in the arms of opposing tackles. Carter doesn’t really show a ton of promise with a current arsenal of pass rush moves either, nor is he super bendy to help alleviate the pressure of not having the pass rush moves to free himself from linemen.

In the run game you really see Carter’s current frame becoming an issue, between losing on leverage and being light he gets moved easily and is a none factor in stopping the run. His eyes are good when locating the ball and the direction of the play, but he can’t move anyone to achieve the goal of getting to the play.

All in all, Carter is a prospect who is really just a massive question mark but excels in a unique role early. There are some teams who rock with the wide 9 fronts who would probably really enjoy getting their hands on Carter and seeing what their defensive line and strength coaches can turn him into. Carter is a tall ball of clay who should intrigue teams enough to take him as a Day 3 project.