Welcome to draft season! This is the seventh of 11 positional breakdowns leading up to the NFL draft (April 27-29). Here are my top 10 defensive tackles:
— 1. Jalen Carter (Jr., Georgia, 6-foot-3, 314 pounds)
Carter was the most talented player on a historically-great Bulldogs defense that saw five prospects selected in the first round last year. He's a scheme-wrecker — there's a lot of one-handed tackles sprinkled throughout his highlights — and forces an offensive attack to focus its attention on him, making it substantially easier for his teammates to make plays. There were rumblings about some maturity issues with Carter before an arrest on misdemeanors for his alleged involvement in a deadly car accident involving his teammate and a Georgia staff member. Of course, most college kids are dealing with maturity issues and nothing I've come across would warrant the dreaded "character concern" label. Projected: Top 10
