NFL Rumors: Jalen Carter to Visit Lions Ahead of 2023 Draft; Detroit Has No. 6 Pick

Jalen Carter's draft stock is on the rise.

The Georgia defensive tackle is visiting the Detroit Lions on Monday, as per ESPN's Adam Schefter. The Lions hold the No. 6 pick in the 2023 NFL draft.

Carter helped lead the Bulldogs to consecutive College Football Playoff National Championships in 2022 and 2023.

He will now have visited the teams holding the No. 5, 6 and 7 picks (Seattle Seahawks, Lions and Las Vegas Raiders) as well as the teams selecting ninth and 10th overall (Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles), Schefter reports.

After Carter's involvement in a fatal January car crash, his ranking fell in mock drafts earlier this year. His multiple visits to teams at the top of the draft indicate the defensive tackle will likely be a top-10 pick later this month.

All six of the top draft teams Carter has met with would benefit from the addition of an elite defensive talent, the Lions perhaps especially. Detroit has the potential to take its defensive setup to the next level in 2023.

The Lions have a new defensive line coach in John Scott Jr., the college coach who mentored first-round prospects like Kerry Hyder and Branden Jackson at Texas Tech and Javon Kinlaw at South Carolina. They are also expecting improvements from defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, the Defensive Rookie of the Year finalist who led the Lions with 9.5 sacks in 2022.

That defense could be made even stronger by the addition of a powerful defensive tackle like Carter, who anchored the Bulldogs' top-ranked defense during Georgia's championship 2022-23 season.

Despite a lingering ankle injury, Carter started nine of 13 games and recorded 32 stops, seven tackles for loss, three sacks, three pass breakups and two forced fumbles in his junior season.

The biggest problem Georgia's opponents had to solve that season was often Carter. His speed off the snap and his success in forcing quarterbacks out of structure with his pass-rushing caused many opposing squads to resort to double-teaming to hold him back.

Carter is currently serving 12 months of probation after pleading no contest to misdemeanor racing and reckless driving charges related to the crash which killed Bulldogs staff member Chandler LeCroy and football player Devin Willock. He is expected to be available in 2023 if he complies with probation.