On the eve of the Reese’s Senior Bowl one prospect the Bucs have a plethora of potential holes on their roster. One position group that is especially thin is that of outside linebacker, as Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds recently mentioned in his SR’s Fab Five. With Shaq Barrett still recovering from a torn Achilles and Carl Nassib and Anthony Nelson impending free agents, outside linebacker could be an important target among draft prospects.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles even mentioned during his post-season press conference on Bucs Total Access that the team needed to get more production out of the outside linebacker position. There could be a highly athletic player attending the Senior Bowl who may be able to help improve both the depth and ceiling of the Bucs edge rushers. That player is Andre Carter II of Army.

Carter Could Bring A Lot Of Length And Physicality To Bucs

The 6-foot-7, 260-pound senior is an imposing figure. He buttresses that frame with speed for the position that is impressive. This rare stature allows Carter to win in multiple ways. His favorite move from the games I watched was using his long arms to easily get his hands behind his opposition’s back for an effective swim move to the inside.

A former wide receiver and tight end in high school his speed allows him to track down ball carriers from behind as the backside defender on outside runs away from his side. He uses his long arms to swipe opposing tackles arms thus allowing him to keep himself clean as he dips his shoulder to gain the corner on edge rushes.

Carter Is A Raw Prospect Who Needs Time To Develop

Army OLB Andre Carter II – Photo by: USA Today

As mentioned prior, Carter did not start playing defense until after his 2019 redshirt freshman season at Army. Therefore, he has only had three seasons to learn and develop at his current position. Carter is still very raw and developing his rush plan and techniques. If this sounds familiar, it should. It’s very similar to the assessments made of Joe Tryon-Shoyinka when he was coming out of Washington in 2021.

A few areas he will need to continue to improve are his pad level as well as his use of hands.

At his impressive height, Carter has a propensity to play very upright. This reduces his ability to win with leverage and reduces his power. Due to his upright play style, he can often get overwhelmed by physical tackles at the point of attack. In addition, he is very inconsistent with his hand fighting, often landing soft punches and allowing his arms to be swatted away with relative ease.

Carter’s Production At Army Was Impressive But Inconsistent

Over the course of his three seasons at Army Carter accumulated 96 combined tackles, 25.5 tackles for loss, 19 sacks, five forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, five passes defensed and an interception. His most productive season was in 2021 when he registered 41 tackles and 14.5 sacks. His production fell off in his platform season in 2022 when he only recorded 3.5 sacks. This drop-off was mostly due to defenses focusing their game plans on stopping Carter.

Army’s level of talent isn’t the greatest (the last time a player from Army was drafted was 2008 when defensive back Caleb Campbell was selected in the seventh round by the Detroit Lions), so a concerted focus on Carter was able to effectively reduce his statistical production.

Bucs Will Most Likely Like His Motor

One thing the Bucs like in college draft prospects are guys who love to play and bring a high motor to every snap. Tryon-Shoyinka, Anthony Nelson, Zyon McCollum, Luke Goedeke and Cade Otton are all recent draft picks who displayed this passion through their play and interviews. Watching Carter, I have a strong belief he shows that same level of commitment to the sport. That motor combined with his athletic gifts should provide a high floor for his potential outcomes.

Carter will absolutely pick up clean-up and coverage sacks just because he won’t give up on a play. His length and physical profile will help him take advantage of the odd time when opposing tackles take a play off or over set. The fact that he already is comfortable with an inside move make me feel comfortable he can immediately step in and offer a similar level of play to that of Nelson.

Carter offers a rare blend of an enticing physical profile that can potentially offer a high ceiling along with a strong floor. The fact that he still has a lot of areas to his game that still need development make him a likely Day 2 pick. The Bucs might consider him at pick 50.