Barrett Carter drew plenty of praise from his new defensive coordinator after he was selected during Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft on Saturday.

The Cincinnati Bengals took Carter in the fourth round (No. 119 overall pick), and Cincinnati is certainly happy to have the former Clemson star linebacker.

Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden spoke glowingly about Carter after he was drafted, saying that Cincinnati had a higher grade on Carter than the round he was picked in.

“He’s a guy that we had high regard for, had grades higher than the current round,” Golden said in a press conference. “He can play stack linebacker, gives us four-down value, early downs, third down and special teams. Team captain, green dot, 4.0 GPA, just a family-oriented guy. Just a really impressive human being, and he’s going to have an immediate impact for us.”

Carter, who was voted by his Tiger teammates as a permanent team captain in 2024, comes to Cincinnati highly recommended.

Carter’s ability to be the quarterback of a defense, so to speak, from his linebacker position before the snap is one of the many things about him that appeal to the Bengals.  

“Obviously the less things you’re worried about off the field, the more you’re focused on what needs to get done. In this particular case, Barrett had great recommendations,” Golden said. “Obviously selected captain by his peers, and clearly pre-snap was in charge of that defense. So, those things are all important and allows you freedom to get some checks executed on the field. We like to do a lot of our stuff on the grass, so to speak, so we need guys that can think on their toes and get us in the right call, and he’s capable of doing that.”

Golden went on to talk about the differences between Carter and former South Carolina linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr., who was drafted by the Bengals in the second round.

“This is a true stack linebacker,” Golden said of Carter, “whereas Demetrius can be a little bit more of a combo, has enough length to play some OB (off-ball linebacker) for us, where I think Barrett is more stack linebacker, in-the-box linebacker. But good coverage skills, good in zone. So, just a little bit different in terms of the style of play, but equally as important.”

As for Carter specifically, he made a great impression on Golden during their interview at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

“He’s one of the more authentic interviews that I did at the combine, and just really excited about the pick,” Golden said. “For us, it was another nonwavering moment in terms of this was the guy we were hoping to get, and it fell our way.”

In his Clemson career from 2021-24, Carter was credited by Clemson’s coaching staff with 254 tackles (31.5 for loss), 12.5 sacks, 24 pass breakups, three interceptions, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries over 52 games (40 starts). He was a Butkus Award finalist as a senior in 2024, when he recorded 84 tackles (10.5 for loss), 3.5 sacks, nine pass breakups and a fumble recovery over 14 games (all starts).

At the conclusion of his career, Carter’s 2,482 career snaps were the most by a Tiger linebacker on record. He was the only player in the nation during his four-year career to record at least 30 tackles for loss, at least 20 pass breakups and three or more interceptions.

A two-time All-ACC selection and two-time All-American, Carter checks all the boxes for the Bengals as far as the different roles he’s capable of filling.

“All four downs – early downs, third down and special teams, for Barrett, and that’s what’s attractive,” Golden said. “As you start to get to this part of the draft, you’re putting roles together, and we didn’t feel like we had to compromise any of those roles with Barrett.”