New York Giants Draft Prospect: CB Caelen Carson

The Giants could probably use some more depth at cornerback this year. What can Wake Forest's Caelen Carson bring to the mix?

Caelen Carson, CB

Height: 6’0
Weight: 195 lbs.
Class: Junior (4th year)
School: Wake Forest
Statistics

A former three-star recruit out of North Point High School in Waldorf, Maryland, where he was the 37th recruit from the state and the 134th CB prospect during the 2020 recruiting class. Carson was First-team All-Southern Maryland in high school. His nickname is “Los.”

Carson has played over 2,000 defensive snaps over four years at Wake Forest. According to Pro Football Focus’ statistics, he had 18 passes defended and three interceptions. Most of his snaps were at outside CB, although he appeared competent in the snaps he received in the slot during the 2023 season. Carson will attend the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.

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Strengths

• Good height and length for the position
• Solid athlete overall - has quick feet
• Fluid in backpedal and has solid balance
• Solid burst moving forward, acceleration is okay
• Can play man coverage, but needs technical work
• Good overall ball skills - did well to get his head around in 50-50 situations
• Good ball tracking, concentration, and hand fighting at the catch point
• Best part of his tape was his technique in the red zone against the fade ball
• NCST Q3 4:10 1st&10
• Vanderbilt Q4 9:08
• Primarily aligned as field-CB with slight inside leverage in off-coverage
• Displayed physicality in his press when tasked, although technique/footwork were not consistent
• Better snaps at slot than expected, judging by his outside tape/usage
• NCST Q1 7:26, quick natural ability to locate for PBU
• Would like to see more snaps in the slot and closer to the LOS with quality coaching
• Showed pop on contact when he timed his hits well, which wasn’t often
• Solid overall job fighting through blocks on the outside
• Did a good job vs. Clemson in this area
• Overall, not a terrible tackler, but not an authoritative one
• Run support is adequate at best

Weaknesses

• Lack of urgency in his movements
• Click & close out of breaks lacked burst and seemed indecisive
• This was amplified due to usage in Brad Lambert’s system
• Defensive system led to plenty of screens to the field (where he was), and his angles were inconsistent, frustrating, and led to bigger plays than necessary
• Too late, too often with his recognition - he has to trust his eyes more (zone)
• Late out of break, doesn’t have requisite athletic ability/ recovery speed to overcome late reactions out of breaks
• Burnt on deep touchdown vs. ND Q2 2nd&18 7:13
• Abandones fundamentals too frequently
• Processing is too slow at times
• Did displayed solid route recognition near the LOS vs. Clemson on a few plays
• Beat on switch release touchdown vs. NCST in Cover-3 deep third - seemed late to react
• Needs to wrap up as a tackler

Summary

Caelen Carson is a developmental CB who was trusted to play from depth, often as the field cornerback with an inside shade. He displayed a solid ability to locate the football when it’s in the air and knock it away - a valuable trait of his that was leveraged in the red zone throughout the 2023 season. However, his recognition, combined with a lack of urgency in and out of breaks, led to big plays for the opposing offense.

He’s not a plus in run support, needs to wrap up as a tackler, and his play speed must improve. He did not play much in the slot, nor was he in press often, but I thought his snaps when he was executing those assignments did display traits that could be developed. He’s not technically sound right now, nor is he an elite athlete, but he could be a special teamer who can grow with more coaching and experience.

GRADE: 5.8

Nick Falato

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