Traits > productivity. This is true for almost every position and for a simple reason more than most others.
A)I can teach an athletic kid to be productive. You'll never teach someone to be "athletic."
B)I'd rather have a super athletic "floor" to work with > someone with plus productivity but not an NFL athlete or mid-athlete. The bottom is dropping out a lot faster on the guy without NFL athleticism. How many NFL starters are you going against in college? Well now you're playing them every down and they're the most athletic freaks around.
C)Most big sack #'s are from guys who have coaches to just "go get the QB"
I don't use "edge rusher" for a reason. A simple but very important reason. So many guys move around and produce elsewhere besides the "edge." It's a lot more common now but why I've always use "rush" > "edge rusher." Carter is going top 4 and is a decent example of that. You can rush him all over.
Also and I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned but the position has changed so much. As much as QB and Tackle. He didn't "produce" a crazy # of sacks bc he simply wasn't asked to do so. If you watched his tape, defense and conference. College coaches have guys like him play the 4i/6 taking on double teams, playing on the inside shoulder etc. College is a lot more worried about rpo, options and QBs that can run. Gone are the days where teams want two guys flying off the edge. And it's been like that for a minute now. Again anyone that watches tape sees the difference in tackles and obviously QBs. It's a different game. Everything is quick, get the ball out as fast as possible. It stands to reason coaches look at the game different and probably aren't teaching their guys how to use their hands and extend their bag of tools to rush the passer. So we know why he wasn't productive at a level we want from his film and just the nature of the game at that level.
I have him and Green as "trade back" targets bc 4 is so murky in terms of value.