Jalen Carter announces he is entering the 2023 NFL Draft

After winning his second consecutive national championship with the Georgia Bulldogs, defensive tackle Jalen Carter announces he will enter the 2023 NFL Draft. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise as he is considered one of the top prospects, if not the number one player, in this year’s draft class.

Jalen Carter has been a key part of the Bulldogs’ dominant defense the past two seasons with 69 total tackles, 15.5 tackles for a loss, and six sacks during that stretch. He is a player that can drastically change a defensive line with the way he plays the run but also puts pressure on the quarterback.

Could Jalen Carter be the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft?

Travon Walker, who was Jalen Carter’s teammate at Georgia last year, saw his draft stock skyrocket during the draft process and ended up being the first overall pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Jalen Carter has a real chance to make it two consecutive years that the number one pick comes out of Athens.

The biggest difference between last year’s class to this year’s class is that there wasn’t a top quarterback prospect last year. This class though includes Alabama’s Bryce Young and likely Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and teams are sure to try to move their way to that top spot for the chance to draft one of these two players.

However, the Chicago Bears have the first pick currently and already have their quarterback in Justin Fields, who made significant improvements this past season. It wouldn’t make sense for them to draft Young or Stroud so the selection of Jalen Carter would be a great fit.

If the Bears stay at number one and don’t trade Justin Fields, then Jalen Carter has a great chance to be Chicago’s selection and be a key piece to rebuilding the defense for the Bears.