Putting to bed why Seattle didn’t draft Jalen Carter

[seabowl]

Jalen Carter overcame not-great feedback from Georgia coaches to stay in top 10

College coaches who are asked about their former players often face a dilemma.

www.nbcsports.com

I have seen many people over the last week mentioned this topic and thought it was a worthwhile post in the main form.

I put this link in the draft forum right after the draft. Word was that even his coaches at Georgia did not like him and would not vouch for him. That is very very rare that a coaching staff in college would say negative things about one of their players to a pro staff. I would say that he was completely taken off of the Seahawk board as he was taken off of many teams board due to this.

 

[BASF]

Jalen Carter overcame not-great feedback from Georgia coaches to stay in top 10

College coaches who are asked about their former players often face a dilemma.

www.nbcsports.com

I have seen many people over the last week mentioned this topic and thought it was a worthwhile post in the main form.

I put this link in the draft forum right after the draft. Word was that even his coaches at Georgia did not like him and would not vouch for him. That is very very rare that a coaching staff in college would say negative things about one of their players to a pro staff. I would say that he was completely taken off of the Seahawk board as he was taken off of many teams board due to this.

Harbaugh said negative things about Sherman and Baldwin. One will go to the hall of fame. The other was one of the best receivers in team history.

That being said, I will not Jayhawk this topic.

 

[Scout]

Sometimes it is about the right fit and even if that player is good they are not a right fit for a lot of teams. Christian Barimore is a good example where he was called dumb, lazy, undisciplined, etc. So when the Patriots drafted him that was a surprise but he has been a key cog to their defensive front since he was drafted.

 

[calinator]

Harbaugh said negative things about Sherman and Baldwin. One will go to the hall of fame. The other was one of the best receivers in team history.

That being said, I will not Jayhawk this topic.

Sounds like a different situation. Am I wrong to assume Carter is more of a clubhouse issue and Sherman/Baldwin were more based off talent and skills?

 

[White Devil]

It doesn't matter.

The issue is that they reached on guys before this, and went with McDowell, the choice was there again, take the shot and hit, or pass.

They chose to pass.

It was a bad choice. It was exactly the player the team needed to be better on defense.

Witherspoon may be a special player and develop into another Polamalu. I'm not gonna poo poo his pick.

I'm in the group that thinks they should have taken the chance again. You blow it and he goes to jail, who cares, it's happened before.

But...But...if the kid grows up, changes his life and becomes the next Aaron Donald for a decade, then it was a bad move.

That's my opinion anyways. I'm just some old guy watching on TV in Florida.

 

[sc85sis]

It doesn't matter.

The issue is that they reached on guys before this, and went with McDowell, the choice was there again, take the shot and hit, or pass.

They chose to pass.

It was a bad choice. It was exactly the player the team needed to be better on defense.

Witherspoon may be a special player and develop into another Polamalu. I'm not gonna poo poo his pick.

I'm in the group that thinks they should have taken the chance again. You blow it and he goes to jail, who cares, it's happened before.

But...But...if the kid grows up, changes his life and becomes the next Aaron Donald for a decade, then it was a bad move.

That's my opinion anyways. I'm just some old guy watching on TV in Florida.

Even if he turns out great in Philly, it doesn’t guarantee the same would happen in Seattle. He’s surrounded by a veteran d-line plus guys he knew in college. The average years of experience for the DEs and DTs listed on the Eagles roster is 6.3 years. For the Hawks, it’s 4.

 

[m0ng0]

What exactly was put to bed here?

 

[White Devil]

I never claimed otherwise. He's a rookie, and isn't going to play that much. Pete would treat him the same until he felt he was ready to cut loose.

The talent is obviously there. It's a matter of him keeping his off field life clean. That's it.

But if you can't see the potential from the snaps and time he's been on the field, that's wrong too.

Saying he wouldn't stand out or make an impact on the current Seahawks DL, though?

I'm pretty sure he would.

 

[chrispy]

Without Witherspoon today, Seahawks lose. Riq went out hurt and would have left Michael Jackson, Tre Brown, and Coby Bryant for 3 Qs. Even if Carter gets home to Goff multiple times, it wouldn't have evened out the chunk plays we saw with those three in pre-season against backups.

Carter's a good player but unreliable: both on and off the field. It's a risk. Trying to manage superstars with egos and personal baggage seems to be something PC/JS prefer to be in the past.

 

[seabowl]

I never claimed otherwise. He's a rookie, and isn't going to play that much. Pete would treat him the same until he felt he was ready to cut loose.

The talent is obviously there. It's a matter of him keeping his off field life clean. That's it.

But if you can't see the potential from the snaps and time he's been on the field, that's wrong too.

Saying he wouldn't stand out or make an impact on the current Seahawks DL, though?

I'm pretty sure he would.

No one is denying his physical talent. He had more talent than anyone in the draft. With that said, he didn’t even play that much at Georgia and I’m sure part of it was due to what the coaches personally thought about him there. There’s one thing to take a chance on a player like Anthony Richardson who is at a premier position with no off the field issues. There’s another thing with a guy that has Bo Callahan off the field type of issues.

 

[NoGain]

There were all sorts of well documented red flags on Jalen Carter...

--Bad work ethic
--Out of shape when coaches weren't on him
--Poor decision maker off the field
--Poor character references
--etc...

PC/JS simply made a decision that they didn't want to take such character risks with high draft capital anymore. They pretty much said precisely that. They said they let themselves get off track in that way. You can't blame them for following their draft strategy/principles, even if you disagree with it.

We'll see on Carter. Maybe he turns it around. I wouldn't bet on it though.

 

[GemCity]

Even if he turns out great in Philly, it doesn’t guarantee the same would happen in Seattle. He’s surrounded by a veteran d-line plus guys he knew in college. The average years of experience for the DEs and DTs listed on the Eagles roster is 6.3 years. For the Hawks, it’s 4.

This.

I definitely think he’s benefiting from having ex teammates and other Bulldogs on their roster.

He just doesn’t strike me as a guy that “fits in” in most places.

 

[White Devil]

Time will tell.

Again, I have no issue with Witherspoon, he had a great game, and I'm excited to watch him grow.

 

[Aircrew]

Even if he turns out great in Philly, it doesn’t guarantee the same would happen in Seattle. He’s surrounded by a veteran d-line plus guys he knew in college. The average years of experience for the DEs and DTs listed on the Eagles roster is 6.3 years. For the Hawks, it’s 4.

Bingo.

 

[olyfan63]

But we could have drafted the next Albert Haynesworth!

 

[CalgaryFan05]

There were all sorts of well documented red flags on Jalen Carter...

--Bad work ethic
--Out of shape when coaches weren't on him
--Poor decision maker off the field
--Poor character references
--etc...

PC/JS simply made a decision that they didn't want to take such character risks with high draft capital anymore. They pretty much said precisely that. They said they let themselves get off track in that way. You can't blame them for following their draft strategy/principles, even if you disagree with it.

We'll see on Carter. Maybe he turns it around. I wouldn't bet on it though.

I like Pete's final response:

"It wasn't a difficult decision after the meeting." I can't explain the face he made - but it was clear he didn't fit.

Kinda says it all, doesn't it?

 

[jammerhawk]

The team picked Witherspoon instead of Carter, risk to reward formed the basis of that selection. Carter was seen to be just too risky. The Seahawks were burned with an early pick made on another immature DLine player who sadly became a costly no show due his immaturity. You want your 5th OA pick to be a player that has few question marks beside his name. Many thought Carter might fall sharply in the first round because of his many question marks which went beyond a car accident where a friend and teammate was killed in an accident that he contributed to and he left the scene of the accident. That act was revealing of a character that raised question marks.

Of course folks are free to to have contrary views but Carter had lied to folks at the combine and was caught by that lack of honesty. A closer look by teams at him as a result caused some teams to pass. The Seahawks passed. I'd say that when motivated he could be a very talented DT and has flashed a bit so far, but when the rubber finally meets the road what will he do, and will he blow up b/c of his immaturity added to all that money he'll get early. Time alone will tell.

Maybe the Eagles scored picking him 10th OA and maybe not. The player will eventually answer this question. There are some who thought he might have been the best player in the draft and others that thought his attitude was one of the pampered and entitled young elite athlete and his character didn't appeal to teams where character was a key factor in the player being picked by their team. I was good with the Hawks not picking him despite critical positional need.

The question is far from answered or put to bed but the answer was understandable.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

I like Pete's final response:

"It wasn't a difficult decision after the meeting." I can't explain the face he made - but it was clear he didn't fit.

Kinda says it all, doesn't it?

That does say it all. Too bad the fans won't do the same........
IF they thought he was a fit, they would have drafted him. It's not that hard. He fell to 9 for a reason. People can gloss over that as much as they want. Doesn't change the fact that he fell to 9. Someone with THAT much talent doesn't fall that far down by accident.