One of two former Nebraska football prospects being sent to the 2017 NFL Combine, tight end Cethan Carter is looking to greatly increase his draft stock.
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Overview:
Not to throw his former quarterback under the bus, but Carter didn’t have a traditional passer that could’ve taken advantage of his presence on the field. Armstrong would often throw to his first receiver which took away the option of Carter being much of a threat, open or not.
Studying #Nebraska TE Cethan Carter. He's going to be blown away catching passes in the NFL. He doesn't know what an accurate QB looks like.
— Dane Brugler (@dpbrugler) February 18, 2017
ESPN was unkind to Carter last October stating in an article, “He has three drops compared to just 10 catches on 18 targets. That’s a Big Ten-worst 16.7-percent drop rate, and he’s only being targeted 7.78 yards upfield. Carter has the third-worst drop rate in the Power 5.”
This is a fair point. However, we must again take into account Tommy Armstrong’s passing ability. He rarely threw the same ball two passes in a row. Even sure-handed Nebraska receivers Brandon Reilly and Jordan Westerkamp had difficulty snagging Armstrong’s passes sometimes.
One thing that Carter does extremely well is run block. There’s no question about that. Teams that look to run the ball and utilize the tight end a little less in the passing game may be looking at him throughout the combine and pro day process.
Drills in Which He May Excel:
Thanks to his strength, he may be able to put up some quality numbers during the bench press competition. Considering his work in run blocking, that would come as no surprise.
Right now the vertical jump and broad jump are relative unknowns considering he never had much opportunity to showcase the skills involved considering many of the passes he had the chance to snag were uncatchable. However, he did prove to be an excellent runner.
Drills in Which He May Disappoint:
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The 40-yard dash likely sinks Carter and the three-cone drill shouldn’t be his friend, but considering how fast his shuttle run time is, that could make or break his speed performance.
A Drill in Which He Must Excel:
There is a drill for wide receivers and tight ends at the NFL Combine known as The Gauntlet.
The receiver gets two throws from coaches before running the length of the field horizontally attempting to catch passes from five quarterbacks (three on one side, two on another) as he goes.
This drill tests vision, catching and hand-eye coordination. If Carter is going to sneak into the later rounds of the NFL Draft, his chances likely begin and end with The Gauntlet.