Will Brandon Miller and Jalen Carter’s draft stock go down?

It has been revealed that two high-profile SEC athletes have been linked to deaths in a matter of weeks.

There’s Alabama Crimson Tide men’s basketball star Brandon Miller, who Projects as an early pick in the NBA Draftand Georgia’s standout DT Jalen Carter, who has the Potential to be the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

miller was connected in court for the fatal shooting of Jamea Jonae Harris. Tuscaloosa Det. Branden Culpepper testified to this Miller supplied the gun to his former teammate Darius Mileswho in turn turned the gun over to Michael Lynn Davis, who is not affiliated with the university.

According to testimony, Miller delivered the gun to Miles and was present when the shooting took place. Miller’s attorney said the gun was in the back of his car and he did not see or handle it. He has not been charged with a felony, and Paula Whitley, the chief assistant district attorney in Tuscaloosa, said AL.com that “there is nothing we could charge for [Miller] with.”

“Despite being accused of involvement in this tragedy, Darius maintains his innocence and looks forward to his day in court.” said Birmingham law firm Boles Holmes White LLC in a statement on behalf of Miles.

Miles, who has since been fired from the Crimson Tide, and Davis were both charged with capital murder on Friday.

Miles’ attorney, Mary Taylor, released a statement:

“While we are not surprised by the indictment, which is based on the reality that a person accused of a crime cannot present evidence to the grand jury, we are nonetheless disappointed that the government is presenting this case to the grand jury as capital murder has the evidence uncovered during our investigation and the apparent weaknesses in the government’s case brought to light during the preliminary hearing.”

“We are not surprised by the charges,” Davis attorney John Robbins told ESPN’s Elizabeth Merrill. “We expected it all along. We are glad that the state acted quickly on this matter so that we can go to court and have this case heard by a jury as soon as possible. We will vigorously defend this case and defend my client’s right to protect himself if someone points a gun at him and shoots him.”

In a statement shared with The Tuscaloosa News, Robbins said, “Michael is a good man from a good family and he intends to vigorously defend himself against these allegations.”

Carter’s confrontation with the law

One of Carter’s teammates, Devin Willock, and Chandler Lecroy, a Georgia football employee, died in a car accident shortly after Georgia won the national championship.

Carter, 21, was charged with reckless driving and racing.

He released a statement on Twitter which read: “It is my intention to return to Athens to respond to the misdemeanor charges against me and to ensure that the full and accurate truth is presented. For me there is no question that when all the facts are known I will be cleared of any criminal wrongdoing.”

Carter was posted at 11:33 p.m. on March 1st and deposited at 11:49 p.m.

Will this affect each player’s blueprint pool?

I’ve seen Miller taunted by picks three through six in the upcoming NBA draft, and Carter was a contender for the first pick. If they are chosen in these places, even after the news has come out about them, can we as a society admit that the preliminary interview process is utter nonsense?

Don’t say that you appreciate a player’s character and that you have to do several interviews to know if he’s the right choice and then summon someone to deal with a death. I’m not saying these players are guilty of any wrongdoing or that they don’t deserve to play professionally — the court case is pending — but if that doesn’t give teams pause to draft them, then I’m not sure what Will.

So often have athletes fueled their draft stash on what NFL teams have arbitrarily labeled “character issues,” even though they were undoubtedly less serious than what these two have proven to be. In 2016, many expected offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil to be a top 3 pick, however a video of him smoking weed through a bong attached to a gas mask was tweeted from his account 10 minutes before the draft that Tunsil’s agent claimed was the result of him account is hacked. He was drafted 13th, which, assuming he would have been drafted third had the video not been tweeted, has cost him approximately $13 million.

Whatever you think about smoking weed (something that will probably soon be legal across the US), you surely have to admit that smoking isn’t as bad as anything that kills a human.

A text exchange in which Tunsil asked Ole Miss’s assistant athletic director for a payment to use on rent and pay his mother’s $305 electric bill. My god… how does this guy sleep at night?

Carter has a “really good interview” at NFL Combine

At this year’s NFL Combine, they reportedly hosted mini-golf and darts games to test their competitiveness. When someone’s draft stocks fall because they didn’t care enough about mini-golf, but Carter’s stocks don’t fall after being charged with a felony, can we finally admit these interviews are nonsense?

NFL teams are allowed 45 18-minute formal interviews with prospects at the combine, which was recently reduced from 60. All in an effort to ensure that the players they draft are all straight-up citizens and a perfect fit for their team, as if it were someone with a warm personality will actually help their draft stash.

Jonathan Gannon, the new head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, who have the third pick, said they had one “really good interview” with Carter. How well? Was it the best interview anyone has ever had in any context? After all, how else can you ignore his current legal troubles?

Along with Lecroy, Carter was said to have “operated their vehicles in a manner consistent with racing” prior to the accident.

“The evidence showed that both vehicles were changing lanes, taking the center turn lane, driving in opposite lanes, passing other motorists and driving at high speeds in an apparent attempt to overtake one another.” it says in the police statement.

Carter raced to the officer, pursuant to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Last September, Carter was pulled over for driving 89 mph where the speed limit was 45, suggesting a pattern of this behavior.

Body camera footage shows the officer who stopped him and told him, “Your breakthrough is that you’re not going to jail. This is your break. Because that would make all sorts of messages right?” Carter was fined $1,013. That was close. He almost made the headlines.

As for Miller, during the introduction before the game against Arkansas, he chose to step forward with a “pat-down” entry when announced to the crowd.

That was at least extremely unmusical.

I’m not saying that Miller and Carter necessarily deserve to be drafted lower than they would have been — there might be nuances to these situations that we just don’t see — but it does feel like a double standard . For most players, teams will try to find a reason to move them further down their draft boards, but for true elite talent, they will excuse any behavior.