Jalen Carter arrest involved foul-play? NFL GM defends Draft prospect - "It was absolutely calculated”

Jalen Carter was poised to be one of the top picks in the NFL draft, if not the very first player taken off the board. The Georgia defensive lineman was poised to be a big player on draft night.

That was until he was arrested. In conjunction with the car crash that killed a Georgia teammate of Carter's, the lineman had an arrest warrant issued recently.

The timing is curious. The incident occurred a while ago, but Carter's alleged involvement was just made known and he was just arrested for it very recently.

NFL analyst Peter King isn't sure the arrest wasn't precisely timed. He said this via ProFootballTalk:

"The accident happened on Jan. 15. Exactly 45 days later, on the day he reported to the signature pre-draft event, the police issued the arrest warrant; Carter’s reputation and draft stock took a major hit. The seriousness of the charge—which Carter denies—could derail Carter’s career if proven. Aside from the legalities, when this happened is just odd."

He continued:

"If Carter was highly regarded by the program and the community, would the case have been handled like this, giving him a black eye on the day of his big job interviews instead of three days before or three days after?"

King also mentioned that a GM thought the same way and told King as much:

“You’re not the only one to think that. I believe it was absolutely calculated.”

King finished, saying:

"This, of course, comes on the heels of ESPN’s Todd McShay saying there were character concerns about Carter. Carter’s history at Georgia will be a story to be followed between now and draft weekend."

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What will happen to Jalen Carter's draft stock?

Jalen Carter may see his stock drop significantly.

Though the Chicago Bears were likely going to trade down and thus make a quarterback the first overall pick, Carter was likely to go in the top five.

What will happen to Jalen Carter's draft?

That may not happen now. If he's found guilty, he may not play at all. That could drive teams away from him. It's not impossible that he slides all the way out of the first round after this.