About two months ago, if the Atlanta Falcons had the opportunity to draft Jalen Carter with the number eight overall pick there would be no doubt in anybody’s mind that the Falcons would put the card in for the Georgia standout.
However, after learning more about his involvement in the fatal January 15th crash, and seeing his performance in Georgia’s Pro Day where he was nine pounds heavier than he was at the NFL Combine and couldn’t finish position drills due to cramping, some beat writers, draft analysts and experts believe that Jalen Carter will not only fall to the Atlanta Falcons at eight, but they also believe that the Falcons will pass on Jalen Carter if he falls to them. Earlier today on The Morning Shift Tiffany, Mike, and Beau told you whether or not they would draft Jalen Carter with the eighth overall pick.
Mike, Tiffany, and Beau all agree that it’s best for the Falcons to pass on Jalen Carter. Mike Johnson says “My hesitance is not because of the off the field issues. My hesitance is strictly because of what you’ve heard surrounding his work ethic, the fact that he’s taken plays off, the fact that you’ve shown on the field at times on film that you're not going one-hundred percent.”
Mike finishes his thought by saying “Where Arthur Smith and the Falcons are right now, where they are going into year three, the question marks they still have in certain places, I don’t think you can miss on a guy at eight. Now, he’s still going to be a good NFL player, he’s still going to be a first round draft pick, he’s probably still going to have an impact at some point for a football team. I just don’t think that Arthur Smith and company can take that risk going into this season.”
While Tiffany Blackmon believes that the Falcons should also pass on Jalen Carter she thinks on and off the field issues are “all encompassing” saying “For me you know it’s an all encompassing thing, so if i’m looking at a guy that has had some issues off the field and maybe you know hasn’t been in the best of shape, i’m probably not going to touch that guy.”
Finally, Beau Morgan is on the same page as Mike, and isn’t too concerned about the off the field issues, but is worried about his leadership skills in the locker room and his work ethic. Beau says “You’ve showed it all that’s great I know he’s a dog on the field, but the problem is you don’t get lazy after you just played in college.” Beau also says “You can’t do something for a little while and then say well I did it then I don’t have to put in the work anymore.”
Beau also believes that Jalen Carter’s teammate Nolan Smith is the guy the Falcons should target at eight saying “I would go with Nolan Smith, because I think he is the best player on the board that is going to be there at eight for the Falcons, and that’s the guy I would take.”
Jalen Carter may fall to the Falcons and if that happens we will find out if all of this comes to be true, but all these reports about Jalen Carter falling past the Falcons could just be smoke and mirrors. One thing that we all know about the NFL Draft is that it is a chess game for NFL teams as well, but I think there is a consensus that teams do have real concerns about Jalen Carter, but whether those concerns will result in Jalen Carter dropping out of the top five or maybe even the top ten, will remain to be seen until April 27th.