The Detroit Lions are going with smart, and high character players so far this draft, and after taking Laken Tomlinson and Ameer Abdullah so far this draft, the Lions decide to go with another school known for their academics, and took Alex Carter, a cornerback from Stanford. Alex Carter is arguably the best zone cover cornerback in this year's draft, and will be competing with ReSean Mathis for a spot opposite Darius Slay in the Lions secondary. He's a corner with good speed running a 4.51 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine, good coverage, good size, and much like Slay is extremely physical and likes to employ the press coverage. This may also be his biggest problem, however as he tends to attract a lot of downfield penalty calls which could cost his team many yards.
He is almost a cross between Darius Slay and Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks. He has the intelligence, speed, size, vertical jump (measured at 40 inches) to cover many corners at the next level, and working with a defensive coordinator like Teryl Austin will do him some good, and continue to help him improve his game.
Carter also has the potential to be a tackler as well, and could be used in corner blitz rushes as well, as he recorded 146 tackles in his career. He only recorded two interceptions, but this is believed to be mostly due to the lack of targets he received, as the opposing quarterbacks were avoiding him, and did not throw his way very often.
Carter will go in and compete for a starting role this coming season, but only time will tell with him, as corners will take longer to develop, and he will improve greatly over his future with the coaching staff the Lions have put together.
