Carter, who was lauded for his high motor and pass-rushing ability at Central Arkansas, has had to adjust from playing at a smaller collegiate program to life in the NFL. He's worked to build up his strength, add some moves to his arsenal to improve his ability to fight off blockers, and he has been diligent in learning the roles of everyone else on defense.
As for the strength and pass-rush moves, Carter knew he could be successful in college with one or two great moves, but he quickly learned that wouldn't fly in the NFL, where the intensive film study makes it impossible to get by with a small collection of ways to beat an offensive lineman.
And Carter has used his extra time to study the whole defensive playbook so he can understand what all 11 players are trying to accomplish on a given play, not just his own responsibilities.
"You want to become the best that you can," Carter said. "The whole football IQ part, that's a huge role. Football IQ is just as important as being able to rush the passer. You can have all of the ability in the world, but if you don't really understand the defense as a whole, you're going to lack a little bit. You might still be able to be effective and stuff like that knowing your role and your role only, but I feel like the more you know, you'll be better as a person. You'll be more confident in what you're doing. You'll be able to play fast. You'll be able to move around without even thinking. Knowing the whole defense is a huge, huge difference and a huge gain."
The 6-foot-4, 255-pounder has taken advantage of another opportunity, too. A sizeable portion of the reason why he's been relegated to the practice squad has to do with the players ahead of him on the depth chart. But Carter has made sure to use that to his advantage, even saying, "I think I fell upon the best situation as any defensive end drafted in the 2011 class."
