2022 NFL Draft Prospects to Watch: Alabama vs. Florida

Florida DL Zachary Carter

The NFL Draft Advisory Board gave Zachary Carter a third or fourth-round grade last offseason, and he elected to come back to school for his redshirt senior season. As well as he played last year, (Carter led the Gators in sacks with 5) he thinks his game still has room for improvement.

His 2022 NFL Draft stock is already on the upswing this year as he’s recorded 3 sacks through Florida’s first 2 games.

Part of the reason Carter came back to school was he felt that the team had a real shot to win the SEC championship. After all, they’d only lost by six points to Alabama in last year’s SEC championship game, and many of the players felt that they were really close. They’ll get a chance to avenge that loss on Saturday at home in the Swamp.

But as far as individual accolades go, Zachary Carter was named to the preseason All-SEC first team defense. He also garnered Co-Defensive SEC Lineman of the Week honors for his performance against FAU in which he recorded 3 sacks.

When it comes to the 2022 NFL Draft, Zachary Carter is angling to be a first-round pick. He’s played his whole career up to this point as a defensive tackle, albeit a slightly undersized one at 6’4” 285.

This year, he’ll move out wide and play as a defensive end where he can really flash his passing rushing chops. His first step is tremendously quick for a player his size, and his years of playing on the defensive interior have forced him to use his hands effectively to defeat blocks, a skill he can take with him to the outside. He can bend a little bit too as the clip above has him showing off his flexibility when screaming around the end.

Florida could move Zachary Carter around on Saturday, but at some point, he’ll likely line up against Alabama tackle Evan Neal and we’ll be able to see these two 2022 NFL Draft prospects battle it out in a huge game with conference championship implications.