Barrett Carter 2025 NFL Draft Profile
School: Clemson
Position: Linebacker
Class: Senior
Hometown: Suwanee, Georgia
Height: 6’ 0”
Weight: 231 pounds
Arm Length: 32 1/8 inches
Hand Size: 9 ¼ inches
Vertical Jump: 34.5 inches
Broad Jump: 9’ 8”
20-yard shuffle: 4.41 seconds
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2025 NFL Draft: Barrett Carter Scouting Report
2025 NFL Draft sleeper Barrett Carter out of Clemson has prototypical athletic traits for an off-ball linebacker at the NFL level. He has full-field range and excellent body control in pursuit, although he needs improvement in taking the proper angle in space. Carter can move around or off the block with his elite agility and instinct to react and adjust to ball carriers in the open field. He is competent in man coverage and stands out in coverage and blitzing situations and as a spy for mobile quarterbacks. His instincts are average, but he makes up for it with his athletic traits.
Carter was an Honorable Mention All-Atlantic Coast Conference in 2022 and Second Team All-ACC in 2023, recording 62 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, one interception, and five pass breakups. His best season came in 2024 when he recorded 82 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and seven pass breakups, earning the Associated Press Third-team All-American, First Team All-ACC, and the Butkus Award finalist, given to the best linebacker in the country.
NFL Draft analyst Bucky Brooks currently rates Carter as the third-best off-ball linebacker in the 2025 draft class.
Strengths
Prototypical range and athleticism for an NFL off-ball linebacker.
Capable of stacking up and making plays behind the line of scrimmage.
Plays with stick-and-move hands to shed blocks from tight ends and offensive linemen.
Excellent change of direction ability to play from sideline to sideline.
Has the burst to close in on ball carriers and make tackles in the open field.
Expert blitzer, who can also act as a spy.
Capable of covering tight ends and running backs in space.
Weaknesses
Average play recognition skills.
Will need to work on pursuing angles to the ball.
Will need to work on patience regarding gap integrity.
His form on tackling tends to be sloppy at times; he tends to not drive with his feet through tackles.
He could show more aggression and challenge blockers one-on-one.
NFL Comparison: Christian Harris, Houston Texans
Teams with a Need at the Position: Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants.
Draft Projection: Rounds 3-4
Bottom Line on Barrett Carter
When it comes to Barrett Carter, he is a major sleeper in the 2025 NFL Draft for one reason: the position he plays. Off-ball linebacker is a position that has had its value in drafts and in free agency diminish year over year, due to teams playing sub-nickel and dime packages. Carter is a player who will probably go later in the draft because of that reason, and 31 teams will regret letting him fall; he can be a prototypical will linebacker in the NFL in a 4-3 or play either middle linebacker position in a base 3-4 defense. In conclusion, Barrett Carter will be a steal for a defense that needs a Swiss army knife in the front seven.
Main Photo: Ken Ruinard – Imagn Images