DeWayne Carter NFL Draft 2024: Scouting Report for Buffalo Bills DL

HEIGHT: 6'2"

WEIGHT: 302

HAND: 10¼"

ARM: 33"

WINGSPAN: 79⅛"

40-YARD DASH: 4.99

3-CONE: 7.95

SHUTTLE: 4.75

VERTICAL: 32"

BROAD: 9'1"

POSITIVES

— Good size and frame with decent arm length.

— Has some quickness and burst off the line of scrimmage.

— Has pop in his hands and the upper-body strength to win at the point of attack and stand up linemen when he picks his hand up from the ground.

— Can shed blocks when he lands his hands.

— Solid bull-rusher if he keeps his pads down and hands tight and inside on the blocker.

NEGATIVES

— Often winds up for his punch and is wide with his hand placement when taking on blocks, exposing his chest.

— Has a habit of standing up out of his stance and playing with a narrow base.

— Subpar lateral movement skills, which leads to him getting reached against outside zone and missing tackles/sacks against mobile quarterbacks.

— Inaccurate with his hands when working pass-rush moves. Often misses or is late and isn't good at playing the offensive lineman's hands.

— Significant dip in TFL and sacks this past season.

2023 STATISTICS

— 13 G, 41 TOT, 1 SK, 3.5 TFL, 4 PD, 1 FR

NOTES

— Born Dec. 10, 2000

— 3-star recruit in the 2019 class, per 247Sports

— No major injuries

OVERALL

The biggest key to DeWayne Carter's game and transition to the NFL is his use of hands.

When he shoots his hands straight from the ground, he has plenty of strength to be a disruptive player. He's hard to move with one-on-one blocks against the run and is solid when taking on double-teams or combo blocks, conceding minimal yardage.

Carter is also a solid bull-rusher when he keeps his pads down and hands inside on the offensive lineman's chest. Granted, a lot of his success in college came against offensive tackles, and he might be less effective versus interior offensive linemen in the NFL if he stays lined up as a defensive tackle on passing downs.

However, the former Blue Devil has a habit of winding up and missing wide with his hands too frequently. While that technical flaw can be fixed, it's concerning that he's an older prospect as a fifth-year senior and still struggles with the consistency of this part of his game.

With that being said, Carter is scheme versatile, as he can play as a 4i- or 5-technique in odd fronts or as a 3-technique in even fronts. That should pique teams' interest on Day 3 of the draft.

GRADE: 6.0 (High-Level Developmental Prospect — 5th Round)

OVERALL RANK: 174

POSITION RANK: DL17

PRO COMPARISON: Shades of Neville Gallimore

Written by B/R NFL Scout Matt Holder

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