I think the elephant in the room with Carter is the lack of production. I understand you scout the traits and not the boxscores. And frankly, Carter has a ton of traits. But he just hasn't put up the numbers yet, and I think it's hard to project him to do so. The NFL's top pass rushing DTs are getting double digit sacks these days. Chris Jones 15.5. JJ Watt (plays inside and out) has 12.5 on his last legs. Quinnen Williams 12. Hargrave, Heyward, Payne all with 11 or more sacks. I don't know if I can see Carter projecting to double digits when he's only had 3 each of the last 2 years.
I've read comparisons to Warren Sapp, which is a joke. Sapp was about 25lbs lighter, much quicker and had double digit sacks at Miami. Quinnen is a solid comp, but even he had an 8 sack final season at Bama. I do love Carter, and I think with some counter moves when his bullrush doesn't work, he can be a solid 8 sack guy with great run defense.....but is that worth the #1 pick? Is that even worth the #4 pick? Quinnen went 3rd.
I would take Carter in a heartbeat if Anderson is off the board. He's still a top 3 prospect in this draft, so he's probably worth the 4th pick in this draft, even if not worth it in better draft classes. But I'd like him a lot more at the 1T than the 3T. Like if you can get DeForest Buckner in a trade from the Colts or can sign Dre'Mont Jones in free agency, adding Carter inside with one of those guys would be deadly. But I do worry about his ability to anchor the DL on his own.