Jalen Carter mock draft: How arrest warrant could affect Georgia DL’s NFL Draft selection

Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter is one of the top prospects in the 2023 NFL draft. He is touted as the best defensive prospect in the draft and helped lead Georgia to a national championship victory.

With the draft nearing the end of next month, Carter finds himself in one of the worst possible scenarios. Today, reports have surfaced over social media of Carter lying to police about a teammate's fatal car crash accident that occurred on Jan. 15, 2023.

Georgia player Devin Willock and recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy were killed in a car accident on that date. Originally, Carter told police that he was one mile away from the car that Willock and LeCroy were in, but a new report shows that Carter told the police that he was close enough to the car to see its taillights.

A warrant by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department was put out Wednesday for Carter. He will be arrested for reckless driving and racing.

Carter was expected to speak to the media at 10:30 a.m. at the combine but wasn't present and he won't speak for the rest of the week.

The timing of the news comes at the worst possible time as Carter has a good chance of drastically dropping and falling in the draft. He's a top-five projected pick and depending on the outcome of the investigation, he could fall a little bit in the first round or entirely out of the first round(s.)

Georgia' head coach Kirby Smart reacted to the news of Jalen Carter's arrest warrant

2023 CFP National Championship - TCU v Georgia

Following the news, Carter's college coach, Kirby Smart, responded to the news.

Smart said:

"The charges announced today are deeply concerning, especially as we are still struggling to cope with the devastating loss of two beloved members of our community. We will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities while supporting these families and assessing what we can learn from this horrible tragedy."

Carter is the number-one rated prospect in this year's draft class, according to draft expert Mel Kiper.

In his career at Georgia, he won two national championships while being named a unanimous All-American in 2022. He has 83 tackles, four pass deflections, six sacks, and two forced fumbles in his three-year collegaite career.

As we get closer to the draft, more news and information will be presented about the situation, which will give a better understanding of whether Carter will slip or not.