With the 40th selection of the draft, San Francisco grabbed another pass-rusher for their defense when they selected Florida State DE, Cornellius ‘Tank’ Carradine.
Carradine was a conundrum to scouting departments in the build-up to the NFL Draft as he’s an impressive one year starter for Florida State who tore an ACL just under five months ago. Throw into the mix he was playing opposite another of this year’s top defensive end prospects, Bjoern Werner, and talent evaluators need to work out who benefitted from whom.
Arguably one of the most explosive and natural pass-rushers in the class Carradine also impressed with a surprising awareness against the run game and he recorded 80 total tackles last season, a statistic that is eye-opening to any savvy dynasty IDP owner looking at defensive ends in their rookie draft. 11 sacks and 13 tackles for loss in addition to his gaudy tackles numbers is further ammunition to the argument that without the knee injury Carradine might have been a top 10 pick. Although we have seen super-human recoveries and the advance of medical science in recent years, we might not see Carradine have a meaningful fantasy impact in 2013.
| Year | School | Solo | Ast | Tot | Loss | Sk | Int | PD | FR | Yds | TD | FF |
| 2011 | Florida State |
24 |
14 |
38 |
8 |
5.5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2012 | Florida State |
47 |
33 |
80 |
13 |
11 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| Career |
71 |
47 |
118 |
21 |
16.5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
College statistics courtesy of Sports Reference.
Fantasy Impact
Another exciting prospect with top pass-rush skills who has landed in a sub-prime fantasy situation on a 3-4 defense. San Francisco is not a surprising landing spot for Carradine who flirted with him publically before the draft which led draftniks to suggest he could be the heir apparent for Justin Smith. It’s a comparison I like in the sense Smith’s fantasy value comes from his excellent play against the run game and topped off with a dangerous pass-rush, and Carradine’s 80 total tackles last season suggest he can also contribute in such a way. However, from a short term perspective there are two concerns with Carradine’s fantasy value; will he be on the field much in 2013 after his ACL injury and how will be used in the 3-4 scheme? As a defensive end or outside linebacker? Until we have some clarification on both counts his stock in redraft leagues is almost negligible, but in dynasty leagues he is an exciting stash for a few years down the line.
© 2024 PFF - all rights reserved.