Falcons land disruptive Georgia star in 2023 NFL redraft

Going into the 2023 NFL Draft, the best prospect was Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter. A late-breaking legal scandal due to reckless driving may have dropped him out of the top five, but the Philadelphia Eagles refused to let him slide any further than No. 9 overall, where they picked him.

Carter has more than lived up to very high expectations so far. In 43 games Carter has racked up 13.5 sacks, 37 QB hits and 25 tackles for a loss. Along the way he made two Pro Bowls, an All-Rookie Team, won a Super Bowl and debuted at No. 43 in last year's NFL Top 100.

Needless to say there are probably a few teams who regret not having taken Carter when they had the chance.

In a new 2023 NFL redraft from Ryan Wilson at CBS Sports, Carter winds up going to the Atlanta Falcons instead of Philly, coming off the board one spot earlier at No. 8 overall.

"Jalen Carter can take over games when he wants to, and the Falcons have made a concerted effort to get younger and faster on defense," wrote Wilson.

Atlanta has invested high draft picks on the edge recently with Jalon Walker and James Pearce. It's worked out well so far as the Falcons finished second behind the Denver Broncos in sacks last season. However, the Falcons have neglected the interior positions too often.

Now, heading into the 2026 season Atlanta looks to have one of the NFL's weakest inside rotations.

As special as running back Bijan Robinson is, landing a disruptive interior threat on Carter's level is likely to move the needle towards a Super Bowl more. Analytics show he modern game requires getting quick inside pressure on the quarterback, dramatically boosting the value of high-end DTs. The Falcons need more than just Brandon Dorlus getting it done in this department. The more pass rushers they get, the more dangerous their others will be.

As for Robinson, he went 10th overall to the Chicago Bears in CBS Sports' mock draft.

This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Atlanta Falcons pick Georgia DT Jalen Carter in 2023 NFL redraft