Jets’ two Michael Carters have already forged NFL Draft bond: ‘Cool dude’

The Jets may have some confusion in their locker room or on the practice field this year when someone yells for Michael Carter.

The Jets drafted two players named Michael Carter on Saturday afternoon, and they played college football just miles from each other. One Michael Carter is a running back from North Carolina. The other, Michael Carter II, is a cornerback from Duke.

The Jets took the running back in the fourth round and the cornerback in the fifth round. Carter, the cornerback, said the two know each other a bit.

“He’s a great dude, cool dude,” Carter (the cornerback) said. “We actually trained at the same facility in this pre-draft process. I got to know him a little bit. He’s an awesome dude.”

The cornerback admitted the running back got the best of him on one play and the video is easy to find of Carter trucking Carter.

Michael Carter II and Michael Carter.
Michael Carter II and Michael Carter.
Duke Athletics; AP

“Great running back,” the cornerback said. “Contact-balance off the charts. Catching the ball, versatile back as well. You can ask a lot of him and he can do a lot for your team. I think he’s definitely going to make an impact.”

Carter the running back did not get a chance to comment on the corner because he was drafted and spoke to reporters before the cornerback was chosen. The running back rushed for 1,245 yards and nine touchdowns and had 25 receptions for 267 yards and two more touchdowns. He is a speed back that has home run ability.

“It’s a dream come true,” Carter the running back said. “I had a feeling all along that I was going to be in New York. I’m just excited to be a Jet.”


Jets general manager Joe Douglas made two trades Saturday, moving back and picking up a draft pick in the process. He ended up making 10 selections, the number of picks he entered the draft with, but had been down one after making the first-round trade to get guard Alijah Vera-Tucker.

Douglas’ first trade was in the fourth round. He sent the 143rd pick to the Raiders in exchange for picks 162 in the fifth round and 200 in the sixth round. Douglas then traded picks 162 and 226 (which came from the Panthers in the Sam Darnold trade) to the Chiefs in exchange for pick 175 in the fifth round and pick 207 in the sixth.


The Jets drafted two players who were safeties in college, but will move to linebacker for them. Auburn’s Jamien Sherwood, a fifth-round pick, and Florida State’s Hamsah Nasirildeen both were listed as linebackers by the Jets. Both of them were box safeties in college, so it is not a major transition. It is a sign of how the NFL game is evolving, though, with smaller, quicker safeties now being made into linebackers who can cover.


Nasirildeen suffered an ACL tear in November of 2019 and was limited to two games last season. He was projected as a third-round pick by many draft experts but was there in the sixth for the Jets.

“I feel like the Jets just got a first-round talent with myself and the way I’m coming to work I feel like they got a dog mentally,” he said. “I think they definitely got one. I’m not really worried about where I go in this whole process. I just want to go out there and show everyone what I can do.”

source: nypost.com