Army held their Pro Day this past Thursday at West Point and a few representatives from the New York Giants made the short drive up.
While there, Giants defensive assistant Ben Burress put edge rusher Andre Carter II through positional drills, reports Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network.
Senior Bowl participant Andre Carter II measured a shade under 6’7″ and 256 pounds. His 40 time came in at 4.86 seconds, and his short shuttle at 4.33 seconds. Carter’s three-cone was a swift 6.86 seconds.
Though Carter’s testing times are nowhere near elite, scouts in the league tell me they give prospects from the three military academies a pass. While most of the players who participated in the Senior Bowl or Combine spend months at facilities across the nation specifically training for those events, prospects such as Carter don’t have that luxury and must adhere to the protocols of the academies.
There had been some concern that Carter would be ineligible for the 2023 NFL draft due to his military commitments but an omnibus appropriations bill added language that select service-academy athletes could continue their playing clears via waiver from the Department of Defense.
That was obviously good news for Carter, who is a lock to be selected in the mid-rounds of April’s draft.
NFL Network’s Lance Zierlein hasn’t offered a pro comparison for Carter but says the developmental talent has a high ceiling down the road. Most anticipate it will take him two or three years to acclimate to the NFL and its strength and conditioning program.
Long and rangy, Carter is currently best suited as a 3-4 rush linebacker on passing downs, but is likely to develop into an every-down player with additional growth both physically and technically. Carter needs to play with more skilled hands and inject a little more glass into his on-field diet in order to meet force with force when the run game comes downhill at him. His explosive get-off and natural bend/agility at the top of the rush are enough to create early opportunities for himself as a quarterback hunter. Carter might need a longer runway to meet his potential, but if does his pass-rush homework, he could take a substantial leap forward as an odd or even front edge rusher by Year 3.
The Giants don’t necessarily have the space to add a multi-year developmental talent but Carter’s upside makes him an intriguing potential option.
