What Will Happen To The Redskins OLBs In FA? Lorenzo Carter Can Fill The Void If They Leave

Lorenzo Carter, EDGE
School: Georgia | Conference: SEC
College Experience: Senior | Age: 21?
Height / Weight: 6-6 / 243 lbs
Projected Draft Status: 2nd Round or 3rd Round
NFL Comparison: Leonard Floyd

College Statistics

Player Overview

Lorenzo Carter was a top prospect in a town just outside Atlanta when he decided to commit to Georgia back in 2013. Carter chose Georgia over other top schools that had been pursuing him (namely Alabama and Florida State) because he believed the staff would help develop his skills better and that the staff was building a National Championship contender. Carter was right on both fronts and though Georgia lost the National Championship to Alabama this past January Carter still recognizes that he has accomplished a lot in his college career. Carter has the length NFL teams desire out of their pass rushing OLB/EDGE players. He also has great speed, quickness, and motor. He also is a devastating hitter and his ability to finish while not quite refined yet is aggressive and can result in turnovers. Carter’s ceiling is still very high and that’s great considering he still needs to put in work developing a strategy when he rushes and become a better run defender. Carter has starter-caliber traits as a pass rushing OLB/EDGE prospect and should gather interest from teams using 4-3/3-4 base schemes alike.

Strengths

• Great length and athleticism for the position. Fluidity and agility are clear when he bends the edge.
• Excellent speed for a guy his size. He has great short area quickness that gives him the ability to finish in a hurry and has the ability to play sideline to sideline as well as chase down opponents from behind.
• Active hands. Hands are up when he rushes. Attacks the ball when making a tackle.
• Has a good punch and plays with good arm extension this keeps him clean from a lot of blocks that would stop other players.
• Plays with good vision and can be an edge setter uses his length to get off blocks coming to his side.

Weaknesses

• Uses initial burst to get off but doesn't appear to have much of a plan after that. Will have to learn how to not be as improvisational and develop a plan of attack on each down.
• Could stand to improve his lower body and add mass and strength there. Base is a little too thin and he can concede ground to bigger tackles.
• Needs to develop a counter move if his shoulder dip is stopped or he gets pushed off his track he doesn't have a tool for recovery.

Let’s see his work:

More Lorenzo Carter videos

How He Would Fit On The Redskins

Lorenzo Carter is a bit overlooked in the linebacker conversation by Redskins fans. Attention is on his teammate Roquan Smith who plays inside and is likely a top 10-15 pick. Carter is a great linebacker in his own right and I think what has made him so good are all the opportunities he got at Georgia lining up at different spots on the field including inside at one point earlier on in his career. Some think Carter is going to perform very well at the combine which may place him solidly at the top of the second round come draft day. The Redskins have good OLB depth in theory if they resign Galette and Murphy (who I still think is a DE) but if they let those players walk the unit becomes much less robust with only Kerrigan, Smith, and Anderson under contract. While other positions on defense certainly warrant a high selection the Redskins will need a speed rusher with length if the above scenario plays out. Carter certainly has the talent to come in immediately and make an impact as a pure rusher on passing downs for the Redskins. He’ll need time to develop some counter moves and hopefully develop his lower body more but he certainly has the traits and motor to be a consistent disruptor at the next level.