Longtime ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. revealed his top prospect in the 2023 class.
Kiper Jr. is most enamored with Georgia Bulldogs defensive lineman Jalen Carter. He picked him No. 1 overall in his first mock draft of the 2023 NFL Draft season recently. Kiper Jr. also selected the terrorizing Carter first overall for the Chicago Bears over two other elite prospects from the SEC: Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr. of the Alabama Crimson Tide.
He published his Big Board on ESPN+ and waxed poetic about the Georgia star lineman.
“Georgia had five defenders picked in Round 1 last April, and Carter arguably was more disruptive than all of them in 2021,” Kiper Jr. wrote. “He’s explosive at the snap and finishes well around the ball, even though he has just six career sacks. Carter is in the conversation for the top pick — if the Bears keep it.”
In his Mock Draft, Kiper continued to discuss Carter and a possible Bears trade out of the top slot. But, for the sake of his Mock Draft, he had the Bears keep the pick.
“Chicago’s roster needs help from top to bottom, but its defense was particularly dreadful in 2022, ranking last in the league in sacks (20) and points allowed per game (27.2). It has to be D all the way for wherever the Bears make their selection,” he wrote. He called him “the best player in this draft, a Day 1 starter in the middle of this defense.”
Time will tell to see if Carter can do ridiculous things like this in the NFL, but nevertheless, Mel Kiper Jr. expects him to be the No. 1 pick this spring.
Jalen Carter is ridiculous! 🏈💪 pic.twitter.com/9QyR4IXL21
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) December 3, 2022
[ESPN+, ESPN+, The Comeback]
