NFL Draft 2020 Scouting Report: DE Ron’Dell Carter, James Madison (QH)

*Our DL grades can and will change as more information comes in from Pro Day workouts, leaked Wonderlic test results, etc. We will update ratings as new info becomes available.

Our Quick Hit (QH) scouting reports are a modified/shorter version of our full-scale reports. On these Quick Hits, I look at a lesser amount of tape and write a shorter amount of flowy words – these are usually designed more for sleeper prospects that I want to get more acquainted with and if something really jumps out, I’ll go deeper. It’s just me trying to get in and get out and deliver the pertinent notes to you for your consideration and for review later if they start to make waves in a year or two.

I’ll do a chunk of these pre-Draft and then more after the Draft, going through the players that caught my attention in the draft (because of how high they were taken) or that I stumble across in training camp or the preseason that catch my eye.

Most of my notes on these Quick Hits will be short and sweet bullet points versions of our full-scale reports. Enjoy…

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As I was skimming different sleeper prospect tapes from FCS, I came across the 2019 Buck Buchanan Award Runner up (FCS Defensive Player of the Year) edge prospect Ron’Dell Carter. His highlight tape catches the attention for sure, as did his 27.0 TFLs and 12.0 sacks in 2019 season. It’s time to find out what we’re looking at here!

BACKGROUND:

 -- 2019 Buck Buchanan Award Runner up, and a few publications named him FCS Defensive Player of the Year.

 -- 6’2.5”/265 DE prospect playing in a 4-3 scheme in college.

GAME TAPE AND RANDOM NOTES…

 -- Has a very quick jump off the snap. Uses a good burst plus has a few savvy technique-moves to go with it.

 -- 4 tackles, 2.0 TFLs, and 0.0 sacks against D1 West Virginia in their 2019 season opener.

 -- I watched his whole game vs. WVU…he acquitted himself well and looked like a real D1/BIG 12 edge rusher. No sacks but did have three QB hits that I saw (although the statistician credited him with just one).

 -- He did not dominate the very good WVU tackles, but he held his own and did have a couple of big wins. On one play, midgame (and JMU was in this game to the final minute), Carter faked outside and froze the left tackle (who was winning against him most of the game), Carter then jabbed stepped to the inside and had a wide open path to the QB and he looked like he was shot out of a cannon and I thought he would kill the QB (who threw it right before he got popped). Carter flashed skills against D1 blocking.

 -- Against William & Mary in 2019…10 tackles, 6.0 TFLs and a sack in one game. Carter dominates lesser blockers at the FCS level, as you would hope.

 -- It’s hard to tell how good he is, for the NFL, watching vs. FCS blockers…but watching him against West Virginia – he held his own. He wasn’t unreal, just promising with upside.    

Ron’Dell Carter, Through the Lens of Our DE Scouting Algorithm:

 -- 0-1 solo tackles in a game in his final 8 college games…not a great sign, playing a lot of playoff games down the stretch. He spent most of his time rushing the backfield and coming up empty handed.  

 -- Only 1 PD and 1 forced fumble in his great 2019 season. 

 -- 48.0 career TFLs, 23.5 career sacks…2 career forced fumbles. 

 -- 12.0 sacks in 2019…8 solo sacks, 8 assisted sacks. 

2020 Pre-Draft Measurables:

6’2.5”/265, 9.5” hands, 32.5” arms 80 3/8” wingspan

No Pro Day data (cancelled)

The Historical DE Prospects to Whom Ron’Dell Carter Most Compares Within Our System:

If he could be another Derrick Morgan, that would be nice. Shaq Lawson became an overrated pass rusher for the NFL but draws a good paycheck. 

*A score of 8.00+ is where we see a stronger correlation of DEs going on to become NFL good/great/elite. A score of 10.00+ is more rarefied air in our system and indicates a greater probability of becoming an elite NFL DE.

All of the DE ratings are based on a 0–10 scale, but a player can score negative, or above a 10.0 in certain instances.

Power-Strength Metrics = A combination of several measurements. An attempt to classify the DE prospect as more of a battle-in-the-trenches type of DE, a 'bull-rusher', and/or a DE prospect who has some DT capabilities.

Speed-Agility Metrics = A combination of several speed, agility, size measurements. A unique measuring system to look for DEs who profile more as speed-rush, stand-up DEs, and/or possible OLBs.

Pass-Rusher Rating = A combination of physical measurables, and college performance, graded historically for future NFL profiling. In the simplest of terms, this is an attempt to classify whether a particular DE is likely to achieve high sack totals in the NFL. We know the 'system'/scheme the DE goes on to play in has a part in future success...but so do the player's skills and performance history. "You can't keep a good man/DE down," we'd like to think.

Tackling Rating = A combination of physical measurables, and college performance, graded historically for future NFL profiling. In the simplest of terms, this is an attempt to classify the DE as one more likely to be involved in a heavy amount of tackles, tackles for a loss, and forced fumbles. Lower-scoring DEs in this subcategory tend to be more pure pass-rushers/specialists. This is also our attempt to quantify, if it's possible, the 'toughness' of a player.

2020 NFL Draft Outlook:

Could get a 7th-round look if anyone can get legit Pro Day measurables on him and if those numbers are close to our projections (or better).

If I’m an NFL GM, I’m not using a draft pick here, but I would extend a UDFA offer to see what he’s got. There’s an NFL worker here.

NFL Outlook:   

Likely a backup edge rusher and possible special teamer. He could slim down to an OLB or even an ILB potentially, if he’s not fast enough off the edge. There’s some raw material to work with here. 

4/2/2020