NFL Draft 2023 Rumors: Seahawks, Bears, Eagles Seen as Jalen Carter's Top Suitors

Jalen Carter's draft stock might have fallen from its peak, but it's not plummeting.

Jeremy Fowler and Matt Miller of ESPN spoke to executives around the league who do not feel the Georgia defensive tackle has any chance of falling outside the top 10. The most likely landing spots were the Seattle Seahawks (No. 5), the Chicago Bears (No. 9) and the Philadelphia Eagles (No. 10).

Carter is not planning to work out for any teams that hold picks outside the top 10, despite a chaotic predraft process.

Considered by many the best defensive player in the 2023 class coming out of the college football season, Carter pleaded no contest to reckless driving charges after street racing former teammate Devin Willock and recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy on the night they were killed in a high-speed crash.

He was sentenced to 12 months of probation, a $1,000 fine, 80 hours of community service and will attend a state-approved defensive driving course.

Attorney Kim Stephens said police determined Carter was not at fault in causing the crash, however.

"If the investigation had determined otherwise, Mr. Carter would have been charged with the far more serious offenses of vehicular homicide and serious injury by vehicle under Georgia law, both felony offenses, and would have faced a lengthy prison sentence," Stephens said in a statement to ESPN's Mark Schlabach.

Carter's conditioning has also come under question after he showed up to Georgia's pro day out of shape and was unable to complete his scheduled workout. He weighed in at 323 pounds, which was nine pounds heavier than his weight at the combine just two weeks earlier.

The swath of bad news surrounding Carter, along with the rise of Will Levis and Anthony Richardson in a quarterback-heavy draft, make it unlikely he'll wind up being a top-five pick. The draft process has cost him millions of dollars in guarantees and will create questions about his commitment to football after he looked like one of the safest picks in the whole class.