2025 NFL Draft prospect profile – Barrett Carter, LB, Clemson

Can Carter help take the Giants’ defense to the next level?

The 2025 NFL Draft is a deep and talented one on the defensive side of the ball. There’s a tremendous number of defensive linemen and edge defenders that will be drafted in the Top-100.

There hasn’t been much conversation about the linebackers in the draft, but teams could be viewing linebackers increasingly important pieces. Defenses have been forced to play more two-high coverage shells to account for explosive passing games, but that’s opened the door for a resurgence in running the ball. Teams need linebackers who can diagnose the run, come downhill to fill gaps, and also cover the hook/curl area and short-to-intermediate zones.

Clemson linebacker Barrett Carter might not have ideal size, but he’s been a very consistent and three-down player for the Tigers.

The New York Giants have gotten some very good linebacker play over the last two years, and Micah McFadden had a breakout season in 2024. However, McFadden is entering the final year of his rookie contract this year, so could Carter be an eventual replacement?

Prospect: Barrett Carter (0)
Games Watched: vs. Georgia (2024), vs. Louisville (2024), vs. South Carolina (2024)

Measurables

Kent Lee Platte | RAS.football

Strengths

Best traits

• Instincts
• Processing
• Short area quickness
• Competitive toughness

Barrett Carter is a smart, instinctive, and remarkably consistent weakside linebacker.

Carter has been a consistent presence on the Clemson defense and has been productive since becoming a starter in 2022. He’s produced at all levels of the defense and is a capable run defender, blitzer, and zone defender.

Carter is a very savvy linebacker with great instincts and a high football IQ. He’s a leader on the defense and very active in the pre-snap phase. Carter is a constant communicator and helps get his teammates lined up. He consistently takes an accurate first move at the snap, anticipating the flow of the play and positioning himself well. He also processes the offense quickly, accurately diagnosing the play and committing to his course of action.

He understands how to attack and fill gaps, as well as leverage the ball back to his teammates.

He isn’t an elite athlete, but has solid initial quickness as well as a surprising closing burst. That allows him to be effective in short zones, as well as disruptive when he meets ball carriers.

Weaknesses

Worst traits

• Size
• Play strength
• Long speed

At 6-foot, 230 pounds, Carter could be viewed as “undersized” by NFL teams.

That could be particularly true with the resurgence of the running game being fostered by two-deep safety shells. Like many college offenses, NFL offenses are looking to bigger running backs to attack defenses that are forced to spread out passing game concepts. Carter will be asked to take on many runners who are almost as big as he is, and teams could be worried that he’ll struggle in that regard.

Carter also lacks the elite athleticism we often see from undersized linebackers. He isn’t a bad athlete by any means, but he has some hip tightness and lacks great long speed. So while he’s quick and relatively agile when sorting through trash around the line of scrimmage, he isn’t a rangy linebacker. Likewise, he shouldn’t be asked to play man coverage with many skill position players. He can struggle to stay with them in tight coverage, and lacks the speed to run with athletic pass catchers down the field.

Game Tape

(Carter is the Clemson linebacker wearing number 0 and a sleeve on his right arm.)

Projection

Barrett Carter projects as a rotational linebacker at the NFL level, though he could win a starting job in the right situation.

He largely played weakside linebacker in the tape viewed, and while he’s effective shooting gaps and in pursuit teams could have concerns regarding his ability to stack and shed blockers in the run game. That could lead them to viewing him as a reserve or nickel linebacker. That said, teams that use defensive linemen to control blockers while their linebackers flow to the ball could envision a bigger role for Carter.

His football IQ and communication could allow him to be a starter in the NFL, though he’ll need to prove that he can be a three-down player if he’s going to wear the green dot. Even if that doesn’t happen, he could still be viewed as the next man up if a defensive play caller goes down.

Does he fit the Giants?
Possibly, depending on their perception of depth at the position.

Final Word: A later Day 2 or Day 3 pick