Does Duron Carter Bring More to NFL Table Than Famous Father?

Over the past few months, there's been quite a bit of buzz surrounding CFL wide receiver Duron Carter. The youngster has been linked to at least a dozen teams, including the Minnesota Vikings.

It's not hard to see why the Vikings might be interested. After all, Carter's father had a pretty good run with the team—one that culminated in his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Yep. He's Cris Carter's kid.

The question is, is Duron Carter more than just Cris' kid? Is he a talented young wideout in his own right, or are NFL teams chasing the past?

One thing's for sure. There are plenty of squads in pursuit of the 6'4" wide receiver. According to ESPN.com's Ben Goessling (h/t Chris Wesseling of NFL.com), Carter has already visited with the Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Indianapolis Colts and Kansas City Chiefs. The Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers have also expressed significant interest.

Of course, not that long ago there weren't a fistful of teams beating down Carter's door.

In fact, there weren't any.

After a collegiate career that was spotty at best, Carter went undrafted in 2013. There were free-agent tryouts with the Vikings and New Orleans Saints, but Carter didn't make the cut.

Back then, the story surrounding Carter was much different, though. He had ping-ponged his way from Ohio State to a community college in Kansas to Alabama to Florida Atlantic. At every stop along the way, he ran into trouble, mostly academic.

However, the elder Carter had a simple explanation for that while speaking with Mike Garafolo of USA Today:

"

He didn't commit a crime, he has no tattoos, he has no kids, and he's a pleasant kid. His thing is he hates school, though. And I'm his dad. He's really bright; he's got an IQ over 130. He just hates school. We gave him the pretest on the Wonderlic. He got a 28.

He. Just. Hates. (Bleeping). School.

"

Carter's teammate at Coffeyville Community College painted a much different picture. According to Garafolo, prior to the 2013 draft, Cayden Cochran tweeted this scathing assessment of Carter:

"

The team that drafts Duron Carter will get the most lazy, whiny & non-work ethic player the nfl has ever seen. I played w/him. Horrible person & will be a complete cancer to any team on the board.

"

Yikes. Tell us how you really feel why don't you?

And so it was off to the Great White North, where Carter spent the last two years catching passes for the Montreal Alouettes. Over that span, Carter racked up nearly 2,000 receiving yards, including topping 1,000 yards with seven scores on 75 grabs in 2014.

Year	Rec.	Yards	Avg.	Long	TD
2013	49	909	18.6	71	5
2014	75	1030	13.7	64	7

And it's there where Carter rehabbed both his image and his NFL stock.

Former Pro Bowl wideout Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson, who played with Carter in Montreal, told Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports that Carter was more than ready for football's biggest stage:

Alouettes general manager Jim Popp, on the other hand, raved about Carter while speaking with Peter King of The MMQB last June:

"

Every NFL team should be after Cris Carter’s son. Duron Carter is a phenomenal athlete. He’s got every measurable. He’s fast, 6-foot-4, can be a punt returner in the NFL with his size, can run with the ball, has got tremendous body control. When he got on the field last year for us he was just phenomenal. And hopefully he stays healthy this year. He’ll be a highly, highly sought after, Cam Wake kind of guy. This is Duron’s second year, and another year is going to be great for him. But this guy can go in and be a one or two guy [first or second receiver]. He is phenomenal. He can’t finish in the CFL season and then go to NFL in 2014, but teams could sign him to a futures deal for 2015.

"

And that was before Carter topped 1,000 yards this past season.

Granted, Popp also told Eric Edholm of Shutdown Corner that Carter could be a bit on the high-maintenance side:

"

He’s got to be with the right people. He’s only going to grow, but he needs that right motivational coach to get it out of him. Duron is Cris; he is his dad. Once you get to know his ways, you’ll accept him; you’ll understand how he is. He’s a guy who could really help someone. He might be unconventional and maybe a little stubborn. Maybe that’s tied into his intelligence.

"

It's also worth pointing out that using Chad Johnson as a character reference will likely cause eyebrows to go up.

Still, it's not like Carter is the first young wideout to be something of a pain in the posterior. Many have forgotten over the past couple of years, but Dez Bryant of the Dallas Cowboys ran afoul of the NCAA at Oklahoma State and then spent the first couple of years of his pro career dealing with on- and off-field issues.

However, with a little help (and a little babysitting) from the Cowboys, Bryant grew up. He's now considered one of the NFL's best at his position and is about to break the bank on a new contract.

Carter insisted to Edholm that he's grown up as well:

"

I wouldn’t have taken a chance on me either. I would say I wasn’t ready to come out. I just had no idea what it took and what it meant to be a professional athlete at all. I feel like I have started to accomplish that in Montreal.

I would say my overall concentration (is much better now). On every play. Every aspect of football. Working hard and realizing that every yard matters. What you do in the preseason matters in the postseason. Little things: making sure you run [routes] the right depth. Little details. Taking accountability for each play. Making sure you know the playbook inside and out.

"

Mind you, this isn't to say there isn't still work to be done, Carter squared off against the CFL's best defensive back (Delvin Breaux, who is drawing interest from NFL teams in his own right) in the CFL playoffs. The results weren't pretty—three catches for 25 yards, a run for minus-four yards and a pair of 15-yard penalties.

Carter admitted to Edholm that he let his emotions get the better of him in that game:

"

Man, it was so frustrating. I’m in the game, going up against the best corner in the CFL, the cameras are on me, we had a great gameplan coming in and the ball is supposed to be coming to me.

We’re getting into the game, and I think it’s about three-fourths of the way through the second quarter, and I don’t even have a target yet. You’re trying to get in the game as a receiver and you only see the ball four or five times as a receiver anyway.

It was so frustrating; the dude [Breaux] was talking to me and it sort of got the best of me that game, I can tell you that.

"

It just reinforces what we already knew about Carter. As bets go, he's far from a sure thing.

With that said though, the NFL is very much a risk/reward business, and with Carter, there isn't much of the former. A futures deal isn't going to be expensive by any stretch. Neither will the $100,000 signing bonus Carter is reportedly seeking.

The latter, however, could be substantial. Carter has the size NFL scouts drool over, good speed and solid hands. His route running and discipline have, by all accounts, improved by leaps and bounds.

There's also a precedent for wide receivers parlaying a stint up north into NFL success. Cleveland Browns wide receiver Andrew Hawkins played in Canada. So did Joe Horn, who spent 13 years in the NFL and made four Pro Bowls with the New Orleans Saints.

Popp, who saw Horn play in Canada, told Edholm he feels Carter is a superior prospect, "far taller with a longer wingspan."

There's even a precedent for Carters getting their act together after nearly squandering their careers. Cris lost his final year of eligibility at Ohio State after taking money from an agent and very nearly lost his NFL career to substance abuse.

We know how that turned out.

This isn't to say that Duron Carter will wind up in the Hall of Fame, or even that he'll ever come close to being a Pro Bowl-caliber player. If I could predict the future, I'd trade in "professional writer" for "professional lottery winner."

However, the physical gifts are there. By all indications, Carter's mental approach to the game is light-years ahead of where it was when he first tried entering the NFL a couple of years ago.

And both would be available for the equivalent of what Bryant will be able to pull from his couch cushions in a few months.

Carter told Edholm that he's learned from both his mistakes and from his father's counsel, and that he's just looking for the opportunity to show how much he's grown:

"

I should have listened to him more. Before, I used to sort of spite my dad. Now I heed everything that he’s saying. He’s been in the NFL, he’s been around the league, and he knows what it takes to make it. That’s what I am trying to do.

"

And with upwards of 15 teams reportedly showing some interest in Carter, it looks like he's going to get that chance.

Gary Davenport is an NFL Analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter @IDPManor.