Entering the 2023 NFL Draft, many expected the Jets to address their need at tackle in the first two days.
But that wasn’t the case. Gang Green waited until Round 4 to select a tackle.
With the 120th selection, the Jets drafted tackle Carter Warren from Pittsburgh. Earlier this month, the Jets hosted Warren at their annual Pro Day for local prospects and he apparently made a good impression on coaches and draft scouts.
“I felt like I did really good,” Warren said about his performance at the local Pro Day. “I had a great workout, I was able to meet with a bunch of coaches and get to see the facility and meet a lot of the players.
“So it was really good.”
At 6-5, 311 pounds, there’s a lot to like about Warren. After he didn’t receive any playing time for the Panthers in 2017 and 2018, he became a four-year starter at left tackle beginning in 2019 when he started all 13 games.
Following the 2020 season, in which he started nine games in a COVID-shortened campaign, Warren was an All-ACC selection in 2021. He started 14 games en route to helping Pitt win its first ACC Championship. He anchored an offense that averaged a school-record 41.4 points and 486.6 yards per game as the Panthers ranked third in the nation in scoring and eighth in total offense. Warren was named ACC offensive lineman of the week following a 27-17 win over Clemson that year after he didn’t allow a sack against one of the toughest defenses in the country.
“When I got there, I spent two years on the scout team and I worked my tail off to get where I am,” Warren said. “My third year comes around and I’m finally a starter and I’ve been a four-year starter every since.
“It came with a lot of hard work and a lot of effort to get where I am today.”
From 2020 to 2021, Warren started in 22 games for the Panthers at left tackle. However, he likely slipped to the fourth round because his 2022 season was cut short after four games due to a meniscus tear he suffered last October. Warren says he is now completely healthy.
“I’m 100%,” Warren said. “I’m ready to go.”
While there are some injury concerns, Warren fits the mold of what every NFL coach and scout is looking for when evaluating tackles. Warren’s best work as a blocker comes during pass-protection situations. Because of his long arms, Warren can keep defensive linemen at bay with his punching ability and power at the line of scrimmage.
As good of a pass protector as he is, Warren needs to improve when it comes to run blocking. Warren needs more consistency to sustain blocks for players coming out of the backfield. Pro Football Focus gave Warren an 81.5 pass block grade and a 60.3 run block grade.
For the Jets, Warren will have an opportunity to be a swing tackle and a future starter at the left tackle position, especially with all the questions and concerns with the Jets going into the offseason program and later into training camp in August.
Duane Brown, who started 12 games for the Jets at left tackle last season, is coming off shoulder surgery. Then there’s Mecki Becton and Max Mitchell, who are also both in the mix to start at right tackle.
Becton has played one game in two seasons because of knee injuries. The last season-ending injury came during training camp last August. After being selected in the fourth round of last year’s draft, Mitchell started five games at right tackle. But his season was cut short because of blood clots in his right calf and lung.
Because of all the questions at the tackle positions, Warren will have an opportunity to compete for a starting role and help protect quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ blindside.
“It’s going to be a cool experience,” Warren said about playing with Rodgers. “I know he is all about ball and business and I’m the same.
“I’m ready to go to work, and whatever he needs from us, if it’s extra film work, on the field, off the field, I’m here to do it and ready to get going.”
Growing up in Paterson, N.J., Warren was a Jets fan as he attended high school at Passaic County Technical Institute in Wayne, where he won a state championship in 2015.
Warren was watching the draft at home in New Jersey with his family when his phone rang. As he saw a New Jersey area code, Warren displayed a ton of excitement as he realized he would have an opportunity to play in his home state regularly in front of his family.
“It was crazy,” Warren said. “I saw the Jets were up next and I was crying, my family was crying, they didn’t know what was going on.
“I was ecstatic, I was just highly blessed, I tell you that.”
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