Josh McDaniels ‘denies Raiders have taken Jalen Carter off their draft board’ due to car crash ties

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels appeared to deny the organization is taking Georgia star Jalen Carter off its draft board due to his ties to the tragic January 15 car accident. 

Carter, 21, entered into a plea bargain after he was booked with reckless driving and racing on March 1 in relation to the car accident that claimed the lives of his teammate Devin Willock and Bulldogs staffer Chandler LeCroy. 

Speculation started Thursday when The Athletic’s Vic Tafur reported that the Raiders were no longer interested in taking Carter in the draft due to his connections to the fatal January 15 car crash. 

But Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that head coach McDaniels has shut down that rumor.  

‘Just spoke to Josh McDaniels and he reiterated what he told reporters about Jalen Carter on Monday,’ Bonsignore tweeted.

Josh McDaniels appeared to deny the Raiders are no longer interested in Jalen Carter

Top draft prospect Jalen Carter was booked for reckless driving in Athens earlier this month

Georgia footballer Devin Willock and staffer Chandler LeCroy were killed in the January crash

‘Contrary to a recent report, the @Raiders are doing their due diligence on Carter, who remains on their draft board,’ Bonsignore tweeted. ‘Carter will meet with Raiders as one of their 30 visits in April.’

Carter was once projected to be a high first-round pick, but has stumbled in recent weeks after an underwhelming pro day and his guilty plea to reckless driving charges. 

The 21-year-old will not serve any jail time after pleading guilty to the misdemeanor related to the fatal January 15 car crash that killed Willock and LeCroy. Instead he received 12 months’ probation, a $1,000 fine, 80 hours community service and a mandatory driving course.

Former Cleveland Browns general manager Michael Lombardi recently said that NFL teams thinking of taking Carter should think twice. 

Referencing another Georgia defensive tackle, New England Patriots Hall of Famer Richard Seymour, Lombardi explained that Carter represents a risk for any team considering taking him in the top 10 picks.

‘A lot of concern,’ Lombardi told TMZ. ‘You want this guy to become your team captain. When you pick a player like this in the top 10, you want him to become Richard Seymour. You want him to become a Hall of Fame player. You want to hit.

‘He’s got a lot of questions to answer.’

Carter missed a portion of the scouting combine in Indianapolis while turning himself in to Athens police on the reckless driving charge, and only hurt himself further at last week’s Georgia Pro Day.

In addition to the 24-year-old LeCroy, a Bulldogs recruiting coordinator, and the 20-year-old Willock, a promising offensive lineman, another recruiting staff member, 26-year-old Tory Bowles and 21-year-old offensive lineman Warren McClendon were also injured in the January 15 wreck

He was left unable to finish in positional drills, after weighing in nine pounds heavier than at the NFL combine last month

Not only had he gained nine pounds since the scouting combine, but he failed to finish several drills and refused to participate in other events.

But the biggest issue remains Carter’s link to the fatal crash, which police say, involved him racing through the streets of Athens ‘at a high rate of speed’ before LeCroy crashed a school vehicle, killing herself and Willock and injuring two others.

It has since been revealed that Carter was previously pulled over and cited for speeding on September 22, 2022.

Carter was a member of Georgia’s back-to-back title-winning teams. He and teammates celebrated their most recent championship with a parade in Athens on January 14 before the fatal crash in the earl hours of January 15.