Carter has been the talk of OTAs, mixing in first-team reps with Tevin Coleman and Ty Johnson. That's not a surprise given how quickly he got on the field at UNC, where he had eight touchdowns as a true freshman. Carter has a clear path to Year 1 snaps but needs to prove he can handle a full workload after splitting carries with Javonte Williams the last three seasons. The Athletic's Connor Hughes thinks it "won't be long" before he's the Jets' lead back. 

Carter has consistently drawn praise from ace beat writer Hughes, who continues to highlight the rookie's playmaking ability and elusiveness out of the backfield. While Tevin Coleman has been working as the starter in team drills, Carter got the initial reps in individual work. It's been Carter, Coleman, and Ty Johnson working with the Zach Wilson group at OTAs, while La'Mical Perine and Josh Adams mix in with the twos and threes. Carter is the running back to target from the Jets in fantasy drafts.

La'Mical Perine is the notable exception from the group with the ones. Coleman was listed as the "starter" when the first-team offense took the field, but Hughes notes there's no front-runner for the job, as the Jets want to feature all three in different situations. New OC Mike LaFleur came over from San Francisco and is a product of the Shanahan coaching tree. The Niners use a bunch of different running backs under Kyle Shanahan. Per Hughes, Johnson looks more muscular this year, Coleman appears healthy, and Carter is "sneaky twitchy" and the "most elusive of the group." Coleman at least knows the playbook already after having played for LaFleur. Carter probably has the most upside of the bunch.

Carter (5’8/201) was a three-star recruit and four-year contributor at North Carolina. Because of his size and the presence of second-rounder Javonte Williams, Carter never had a season with more than 200 touches and projects as a part-timer in the NFL. What Carter lacks in size and burst (4.50 forty, 34-inch vert) is partially made up by instincts, vision, and elusiveness as a rusher (6.6 YPC), but his biggest strength, by far, is his comfort as a receiver. He had 82 career receptions with just six drops and played on most third downs under coach Mack Brown. Unfortunately, his size will be hard to overcome, even in pass protection. Carter compares to Chase Edmonds, likely maxing out as a 1B in a committee, but he couldn't have asked for a better landing spot. The Jets currently just employ La'Mical Perine, Ty Johnson, Tevin Coleman, and Josh Adams on the depth chart.