I recall that when The Arizona Cardinals drafted David Carter out of UCLA, he was seen as a project and the team planned on him being a defensive end. His size -- 6-5, 300lbs -- is suited for that position. There was alittle bit of speculation that he was going to be developed to replace Calais Campbell if he were not to re-sign with the Cardinals.
However, he showed immediate impact his rookie year at nose tackle and has played there as the primary backup to Dan Williams. He has not gotten a lot of snaps this season -- only 68 on the year on defense -- and part of that is because he has been learning a different position -- defensive end, where he was originally projected to play.
According to Carter, who spoke to reporters on Friday and noted on the team's official page, he has not played end since his freshman year in college.
"I'm feeling pretty good at end, now," Carter said. "I didn't like defensive end at first, I'm not going to lie. I hated it. Now, I like it."
Of course there is a key component to why that might be. He will probably see more time on the field with Campbell injured. Campbell is listed as questionable for the game and only participated on a limited basis on Friday in practice -- the only day he did participate. I would be surprised if he is active for the game this week. "I'm ready to put up some good marks, some sacks, some tackles," Carter said. "I'm getting on the field. I can put some film up there, show everyone what I can do."
Could we see the same type of production at end that we saw from him last season at tackle? If he can do that, it will be a huge boost to the Arizona defense.
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