Todd McShay's 'character issues' analysis of Georgia's Jalen Carter draws criticism, confusion

Joe Rivera

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Todd McShay's 'character issues' analysis of Georgia's Jalen Carter draws criticism, confusion image

Todd McShay may have already made a mockery of mock draft analysis.

McShay has earned a reputation for being a solid mock-draft analyst through the years, with the ESPN reporter providing quality analysis for draft season. He may have missed the mark in a big way with Georgia's Jalen Carter.

Carter is expected to be a top-5 pick come next April, with the DT expected to translate his game-wrecking play at the next level with ease. McShay is a big fan of his game, apparently.

McShay, though, offered a bit of empty and controversial analysis on Carter this week, slapping him with the "character issues" label and offering an awkward "warning" to teams to avoid drafting him.

McShay's quotes on Carter in full:

It's interesting with Carter. We all agree, it doesn't take a super scout to figure out that he's a phenomenal player in the interior. With Carter, there's some character issues: Does he get along with everybody? What's he like to deal with in the locker room? Those sorts of issues.

I know it's early in the process, but I'm forewarning everyone out there — Carter's going to be kind of a hot-button name when we talk about some of the intangible aspects of it.

I think, though, with Pete Carroll, sitting here at No. 2, who has a long history of taking guys that have quote-unquote questionable character, and then developing them and having it work out, that makes a lot of sense to me. But that will be the big discussion. It's not about his talent, about his size or his explosive takeoff and finishing as a pass rusher. It's about the character, 'Do we want to bring that guy into the building?'

MORE: NFL Draft big board — The best players available come next April

That said, McShay still had Carter mocked to the Seahawks at No. 2 overall, so clearly, the concerns weren't strong enough to drop him down the draft board at all.

It's unclear where exactly the character concern critiques come from, unless McShay has a very well-placed source somewhere within the Georgia locker room. Carter has no incidents with teammates or coaching, a clear public record and seems to be beloved in the locker room.

In fact, Carter spent time during the offseason giving back to the youth of his hometown in Apopka, Fla., delivering school supplies and holding a football camp for his high school.

If those are "character issues," then every team should be signing up. 

Joe Rivera

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Joe Rivera is in his seventh year with The Sporting News, handling NFL, MLB and some things pro wrestling. A proud-ish Rutgers University graduate, Rivera combines a new-school flair with an old-school soul. He loves dingers, wrestling, comic books, movies, music and really bad puns. He is also a card-carrying BBWAA member and teaches Multimedia Sports Reporting at his alma mater.

You can find him and tweet him @JoeRiveraSN, if you're into that sort of thing.