Where does Duke DT DeWayne Carter stand in the 2024 NFL Draft with his scouting report? He’s productive, experienced, and tested well at the NFL Combine. Is he being slept on, and if so, what tools can he use to exceed expectations at the professional level?
DeWayne Carter Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’2 1/2″
- Weight: 308 pounds
- Length: 33″
- Wingspan: 79 1/8″
- Hand: 10 1/4″
- Position: Defensive Tackle
- School: Duke
- Current Year: Redshirt Senior
Sometimes you come across prospects who you know will be successful in the NFL. The only question is how much. Carter is one of those prospects.
A team leader who became the first three-year team captain in Duke Blue Devils history, Carter amassed 11 sacks, 22 tackles for loss, 11 pass breakups, and seven forced fumbles in three seasons as a full-time defensive contributor.
After the 2023 campaign, Carter accepted an invite to the Senior Bowl where he stood out as a stalwart across all three days of practice. Then, he went to the NFL Combine and blew the doors off testing, logging a 4.99-second 40-yard dash with a 1.72-second 10-yard split, a 32″ vertical, and a 9’1″ broad jump.
Dewayne Carter’s path to the #NFLDraft @Dewaynecarter0 pic.twitter.com/2SZoR6wsIG
— G.O.A.T. Farm Sports (@GOATfarmmedia) April 23, 2024
Whatever boxes there are to check, Carter checks them and then some. And being a leader is one responsibility that extends beyond football for Carter. College Football Network’s Oliver Hodgkinson wrote about Carter’s commitment to community service and education off the field last summer, and a quote therein from Carter was telling:
“If you’re passionate about learning and trying to improve a community or world, all you have to do is ask the question to one of your friends who might have faced that same prejudice. At the end of the day, it just takes educated conversation and a genuine understanding and an open mind.”
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“People have tunnel vision. They see one way and one way only, and our world is not like that. It’s not black and white, it’s not gay or straight, there’s so many things. I live by the golden rule that I was taught growing up, and that’s treat everyone how you want to be treated, and that’s you respect everybody.”
Carter wants to make the world a better place, and football has provided him with a platform to do just that. Now, with a leap to the NFL on the horizon, there’s no way Carter is slowing down. On and off the field, he’s a game-changer.
Carter’s Scouting Report
Strengths
- Has a wide, stout, and well-leveraged frame with superb mass and proportional length.
- Explosive vertical mover with blistering one-step burst and urgency off the line.
- Explosiveness, length, and natural leverage amount to a near-elite power profile.
- Possesses enough lateral twitch and energy to widen blockers ahead of power rushes.
- Dangerous speed-to-power rusher on the interior who keeps his base loaded and active.
- Combination of natural leverage and proportional length allows him to stack and shed.
- Has the mass and power to command double-team attention, freeing up teammates.
- Has the rotational freedom to levy violent double-swipes and then stack rip moves.
- Actively attacks inside the torso on power rushes and can bowl through blockers.
- Can re-extend and re-anchor with active hands while sustaining leg churn and drive.
- Flashes enough ankle flexion to corner blocks and follow QBs in scramble pursuit.
- High-IQ run defender who can diagnose play directions and explode through gaps.
- Hot-motor rusher who proactively uses his length to impact the quarterback.
- Hyperactive in pursuit, using strength and agility to envelop runners behind the line.
- Functions best as a 3-tech but can take situational reps from 1-tech to 5-tech.
Weaknesses
- Sometimes struggles to sustain his acceleration and energy through contact.
- At times, diverts too far upright off the snap in run defense, exposing his frame.
- Occasionally over-extends and gives up his base trying to shoot gaps in the run game.
- Sometimes lacks control when realigning his base in run defense, inviting movement.
- At times lacks the strength and flexibility to wrench free from anchors and enter pursuit.
- At times, comes off the snap without a pass-rushing plan and gets beat to the punch.
- Can be more consistent stacking counter moves off of initial power exertions.
- Is mainly power-oriented and can still improve at sequencing clubs, swims, and swipes.
- Doesn’t have high-end flexibility or ankle flexion, which can limit his ability to finish.
- Torso is relatively stiff, which impacts his ability to pry through blocks with displacement.
- Sometimes struggles to wrap up with his arms as a tackler in pursuit.
- Will turn 24 years old in December of his rookie season.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Carter grades out as a fringe top-100 prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft who could command interest in the mid-to-late Day 2 range. Given his strong off-field track record and abundance of experience, it’s not out of the question that he could go even earlier.
Carter will turn 24 years old as a rookie, but there are several high-floor elements present in his game. He’s a very well-leveraged lineman with great proportional length, and he also has the baseline explosiveness and strength to survive in both phases.
Particularly as a pass-rusher, Carter makes his money with his power. He can leverage his frame density, proportional length, and mass into awesome point-of-contact force with his explosiveness, and he also has the torque and rotational freedom to sequence moves from that power.
Carter’s power is his top selling point, and he can unleash that power from different alignments and encumber multiple blockers with his gravity as a rushing threat. But his appeal extends to the run game too, where he can stack and shed as well as invade gaps with his fiery burst and pursuit motor.
Even at his older age, Carter still has room to build on his pass-rush arsenal and flesh out his bag past power moves, and there are technical improvements to make in run defense. Additionally, his middling flexibility dilutes his ceiling somewhat.
Still, Carter has a high floor as a disruptive 3-tech and has a fairly easy path toward being a quality starter in both phases. Whether he can rise to the level of an impact starter depends on his operational development, as his margin for error is smaller. But for most of his prime, he can be a strong rotational player at the very least.
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