With the 119th overall pick (4th round) of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select LB Barrett Carter.
This is the team’s best value pick of the draft thus far. Tidy bit of business, as Carter, who graded out as a 3rd rounder on my board, was snagged in the 4th.
A little curious about double dipping at LB. I am not sure if this was a “BPA” pick, or if they plan on trading or releasing Germaine Pratt. But in any event, it is a solid pick.
Below is my scouting report on Carter, clipped from my LB rankings:
Barrett Carter
School: Clemson
Ht/Wt: 6’0”, 231 lbs
Strengths:
Carter is a rangy LB that plays the game like he is bigger than he really is. Once he has identified where the ball has gone, full effort goes into tracking it down and making a tackle. He can play sideline to sideline and when he gets a guy lined up, he’ll hit him hard. Carter has good speed and good lateral agility. The speed is noticeable when he is going downhill to make a play on the ball. The agility suits him perfectly for when he is in shallower zone. He moves laterally, parallel to the line of scrimmage as he takes away targets that are passing by his zone. Carter holds his own in man coverage and has enough general athleticism to stick with RB’s. He has also had some success as a blitzer.
Weaknesses:
Carter is undersized, and can get mixed up in the wash when he is navigating traffic in or close to the trenches. He isn’t someone that has the length or size to disengage if it happens that an offensive lineman has latched onto a block. As well, his tackle radius is quite small, and he has had some issues with tackling in the past. Even if improved last season, there were times it looked like the guy had a chance to slip out. It feels like this vulnerability will hang around. Carter is good in coverage, but at times can look a tiny bit mechanical when changing directions. The one scenario that might cause trouble is if a RB takes him deep and forces him to flip his hips and transition. His ball skills also aren’t super great. Carter is still developing his instincts and mental game. There are times where he is either late to diagnose or just flat out bites on a fake.
Summary:
Carter has the making of a 3 down LB. He has the athleticism to go sideline to sideline and to play in coverage. Though he is undersized and will have some ups and downs, he generally is still good in the downhill game. There are some small issues that are present in various parts of his game, but the main thing that he’ll need to work on at the next level is improving his mental game. Sensing things quicker and playing a more anticipatory game, rather than reactionary. He also needs to cut down on how many fakes he bites on. Carter isn’t a perfect prospect by any means, but the tools are all there for him to be a good starter, and I’d expect him to be playing regularly early on in his career.
| Grade: 76.4 | Round Grade: 3rd |
Carter is a bit undersized, but can do a little of everything. Will depend on how quickly he can progress in his development, but it would not be a surprise if he is competing for snaps pretty early on. He has the upside to be an eventual starter.
