STRENGTHS
Carlton is a smooth, silky cornerback with the size and quick feet to become a lock down defensive back for the team that selects him. He has good upper and lower body strength to be physical with those big receivers and this along with his size and long arms makes him an excellent man to man cover corner. When Carlton flips his hips he uses quick feet to stay with his man and change direction and stay on balance. You’re not going to beat this kid deep when he is playing in single coverage because his techniques are excellent and his ability to recover and use his length means the quarterback better make the perfect pass or Carlton with intercept the ball or knock it down. Carlton is very smart and understands how to use the sidelines to his advantage. He is a solid tackler and will come up to support the run and turn the play inside quickly. He is a solid zone cover corner and works well with his teammates but he impacts in man to man bump coverage and teams using that style of defense will rate Carlton higher on their boards than others.

CONCERNS
Carlton is not a knock your head into the clouds, type of tackler and some teams with macho coaches will find fault with that issue.

BOTTOM LINE
Carlton is one of the better corners in this draft and because he stays on balance and uses short quick footwork when he flips his hips he can stay with the quicker receivers as well as the taller more physical receivers and this makes him a potential shut down corner. What I like about Carlton besides his talent and excellent techniques is his football intelligence in using those techniques. He never seems to over commit using his long arms to control the receiver and not taking false steps. He understands that most receivers will make the first move opposite of the direction they are attempting to run their route. At the snap he puts his hands on the receiver, takes a very quick step back, and waits for the second move. If the receiver knocks Carlton’s hand down Carlton will take another very small quick step back and wait for the receiver to start his route and that’s when he is all over him covering him like a blanket. The difference between Carlton and most long legged corners are these quick steps that keep him on balance to be able to change direction easily. He’s patient and deliberate and this makes it easy for him NOT to take big steps that lock his hips and would make it difficult to change directions at the line of scrimmage. At the line of scrimmage is where most long legged corners get defeated early in a route. They take big long steps and are not patient and panic on the receiver’s first move and this how you defeat them. Carlton is smart and every time a receiver makes a move or cuts he flips his hips and takes small quick steps and then because of his length and long strides can cut down that separation very quickly. This technique shows how smart Carlton is and how confident he is in his athletic talent to recover and make plays. Like I said Carlton has the potential to be a shut down corner at the next level as soon as he gets some experience and knowledge about the receivers he will go up against.

Drew Boylhart   FEB.2018