Patriots Rookie Projections: Markell Carter

by Greg Knopping on May 17, 2011 11:00 AM EDT in New England Patriots NFL Draft

The eighth in a series looking at the Patriots' 2011 NFL Draft picks, and the roles they might play for the Patriots next year.

Name: Markell Carter

School: Central Arkansas

Position: Outside Linebacker

Drafted: 6th Round, 194th Overall

Projected Stats: 2 GP, 0 GS; 3 tackles, .5 sacks

Projected Role: Of all of the Patriots day three draft selections, Markell Carter might have been the most interesting. While Carter was not on a lot of draft radars, the Central Arkansas product is a real sleeper pick for the Patriots. He has the ideal size, strength, and speed the Patriots look for in their pass rushers, and he combines that with a quick first step. Still, no one can really have any expectations for a sixth round pick like Carter. If he really impresses in training camp, there is a shot that he makes the 53 man roster. More likely, I think he will land on the practice squad and I think he could be promoted at some point in the season. Carter is a project pick, but an intriguing one nonetheless.

Bottom Line: Project pass rusher who could pay dividends down the road.

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Carter is my Brandon Deaderick of this year.

There’s something about him – maybe the intrigue – that just makes me excited. I don’t know if he would make it back to the practice squad so I’m hoping he can show up in training camp and make the 53, ideally kicking TBC off the roster, but that’s asking for a lot. But, we always seem to have a 6th or 7th rounder in the rotation and like Deaderick last year, I can see Carter playing a serious role. The difference is Deaderick came from a 3-4 defense at Alabama, but I’ll force myself to buy into what Carter has been saying in terms of working on OLB drills multiple times a day, every day, to get up to speed.

by wildcat61 on May 17, 2011 11:42 AM EDT reply actions

Could be a steal.

by Patriots12 on May 17, 2011 12:39 PM EDT up reply actions

Why TBC?

He’s our best pure edge rusher. He may have to take a pay cut at some point, but he’s still the best speed rusher we have (although here’s to hoping Jermaine Cunningham can pass him this season).

by Greg Knopping on May 17, 2011 1:08 PM EDT up reply actions

TBC always makes dumb mistakes that end up costing us big. I’d love to replace him, if possible

by Austin Martin on May 17, 2011 1:44 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

I also don't think he's that good.

He has one move – a pure speed rush and then to spin inside if it doesn’t work. With his contract and hitting 31 in camp, it’s just not really anything worth keeping around. I might be in the minority but I feel much more comfortable trusting Cunningham, or even Moore and Ninkovich, to get to the quarterback next year as they grow into their roles and/or get closer to their primes. I just don’t see the value anymore in somebody who should only see the field on third down, and isn’t all that great in the first place. I’m really hoping Carter can overtake him as a pure edge rusher at first, and then be groomed to play multiple downs.

by wildcat61 on May 17, 2011 1:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Moore is as old as TBC

by quadruple option on May 17, 2011 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Moore will play the entire season at 30 and hasn't really played a full NFL season yet.

He’s been tossed around practice squads and injured reserved lists so he should play much younger, and he definitely showed promise without really knowing anything about the position (hell, he played RDE for a game or two).

One other note about Moore – looking at his bio, he scored an appalling 9 on his Wonderlic. Jeez.

by wildcat61 on May 17, 2011 2:32 PM EDT up reply actions

That makes two..

He has one move – a pure speed rush and then to spin inside if it doesn’t work.

…moves.

by pablum257 on May 17, 2011 5:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Depends if you count running-around-in-a-big-arc a 'move'

Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
Contributing Writer at PatsPulpit

by Comedic.Sans on May 18, 2011 2:59 AM EDT up reply actions

I'm really, really excited about this pick

Going into college as a wide receiver means he has great athleticism. Playing means that he’s pretty strong, and from his youtube highlights it’s clear that he gets pressure and collapses the pocket consistently. he has an outstanding broad jump and vertical, and also really long arms- all things that will help him pressure the QB. Not only that, but his height lends that he’ll be able to put on some solid weight. I don’t even think he starts the season on the practice roster- I think he opens eyes in camp, if he’s worked hard enough. That is all based on them getting into camp relatively on time. If not, most of our rookies won’t get substantial PT

by Austin Martin on May 17, 2011 1:29 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

“all things that will help him consistently hit the quarterback 0.5 second after he lets go of the ball”
you mark my broken-record words – we’ll be calling him “Markell Fifteen Yards”

by quadruple option on May 17, 2011 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Is he known for roughing the passer penalties or are you just speculating?

by wildcat61 on May 17, 2011 5:41 PM EDT up reply actions

he is commenting based on the video posted earlier

by Oughat on May 17, 2011 6:46 PM EDT up reply actions

The only thing i dont like about Carter is

he didn’t really dominate even though he was going up against Division II players. 5.5 sacks against considerably lesser talent, scares me.

by Chris Kole on May 17, 2011 4:19 PM EDT reply actions

He doesn’t have the corner speed to be a beast. He just doesn’t get there fast enough. He rips well. He has good moves but you can see that he doesn’t have the speed to do it all yet.

by Patriots12 on May 17, 2011 5:23 PM EDT up reply actions

He has some pretty solid TFL numbers though.

11.5 as a junior, 19 last year – clearly he’s talented at getting behind blockers and into the backfield. It’s a shame we don’t have more film on him to know why he didn’t get more than 5.5 sacks last year and 6.5 the year before, but he does have 4.7 speed.

by wildcat61 on May 17, 2011 5:40 PM EDT up reply actions

You can kinda see it. When teams have good pass rushers the game plan is to get the ball out quickly. Screens, draws, and quick passes defeat pass rush. But he does a good job of hurrying up the process. I might be wrong in my process now that I think about why he hasn’t gotten there that often.

by Patriots12 on May 17, 2011 7:44 PM EDT up reply actions

In that one video, there were a lot of rushed (crappy throws).

There were also some completions, but the QB was looking to dump the ball when he got near. Less sacks.

The more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
Some people can learn from the mistakes of others, while some people need to pee on the electric fence themselves.
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by SlotMachinePlayer on May 17, 2011 7:57 PM EDT up reply actions

Less talent at QB in that division, too

Div II QBs are the ones who are most likely to be in option-offences and run the ball – Armanti Edwards, Julian Edelman, Josh Cribbs. Not ‘real’ QBs, which means they pass less, which means they get sacked less.

TFL + sacks probably give a better indication about whether the guy can penetrate the pocket, given how often lower div QBs run it.

Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.
Contributing Writer at PatsPulpit

by Comedic.Sans on May 18, 2011 3:03 AM EDT up reply actions