Former Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter returned to the NFL Combine after posting bail and being released from jail. He’ll without a doubt be asked about the tragic night of January 15th where his former teammate Devin Willock and Georgia staffer Chandler LeCroy were killed while allegedly street racing Carter.
Up until yesterday the story was that LeCroy and Willock died in a single car accident. And that was that. Now the Athens-Clarke County Police Department have brought charges against Carter that gives an expanded view of that night. He was charged with reckless driving and racing.
We do not know the whole story at this point. Was Carter impaired in any way? Does he street race often or was this a one-time thing? Did he influence the crash that killed LeCroy and Willock? Hopefully we find out by the time the Lions are on the clock with the sixth pick in the NFL draft.
All the sources are telling us that Carter is sliding down draft boards across the league. Hard to expect anything else coming from a league that mainly passed on a left tackle because he smoked weed.
But if Jalen Carter is there at No. 6 the Detroit Lions absolutely have to take him.
I don’t care that he pretended he was Dom Toretto for a night. It’s unfortunate that two people died. But Carter wasn’t driving that car and unless he hit their car or did something to force them to crash I’m not holding him responsible for their deaths.
The kid made a stupid mistake. Most of us have. Again, as long as this is an isolated incident, I’m not going to crucify him.
Carter is Compared to Current Greats
But the Lions need good players, especially on defense. Carter is nearly the consensus best defensive player in the draft. He’s rated No. 1 on multiple draft analysts big boards for prospects.
I’ve seen people compare him to Jeffrey Simmons of the Tennessee Titans. *Checks Wikipedia* who was a second team All-Pro for the second year in a row. Sounds good to me.
Hell, I think Carter looks like Aaron Donald on some drives. He has that combination of having elite speed and power that few defensive linemen have.
This guy is legit and the Lions need to show fans that legitimately care about winning by taking him if he’s available.
We’ve all heard the rumors over the years that the Lions don’t like to take players with red flags off the field.
Well, that strategy has gotten you one playoff win in nearly 60 years so maybe you should try something different.
Tunsil 2.0?
Remember Laremy Tunsil, the guy with the bong mask? He was supposed to be one of the top offensive linemen taken in the 2016 draft. But minutes before the draft started a video showed him smoking weed out of the mask.
He eventually was selected 13th overall by Miami and some teams said they took him off their draft board completely. Well, he’s regarded as one of the best left tackles in football now. He’s made the Pro Bowl in the last three seasons where he played more than half the season.
There’s a line in the Bad Boys 30 for 30 that really hits home for me on this topic. Isiah Thomas is re-telling a story where coach Chuck Daly says to him, “I’m going to ask you a question and I want you to think long and hard about it. Do you want to win? Or do you want to have fun?”
That’s what I would ask Brad Holmes in regard to Jalen Carter. Because if he really wants to win then he will select the former Bulldog if he’s available with the sixth pick.
