Dexter Carter Madden Career 1992-1997 - Peak 98 OVR

Dexter Carter arrived with a first-round pedigree and never grew into it. Florida State's speed back went 25th overall to San Francisco in 1990, and as a runner he was mostly a disappointment, too small to carry a load and quickly labeled a bust in the backfield. What saved his career was the return game. Carter turned into one of the better kick returners of the era and led the NFL in kickoff return yardage in 1994 with 1,105, the same season he picked up a Super Bowl ring on the XXIX team.

Madden could never settle on him, and one of its numbers is plainly broken. Carter sat at a 46 for the 1991 season and a 56 for 1992 before Madden NFL '95 listed him at a 98 for 1994, a rating that would make him an elite feature back and bears no relation to a change-of-pace returner who carried the ball a handful of times. It is a data artifact, not a verdict. By Madden '97 the same player was down to a 30. The grade swung 68 points in two years because the game never knew what Carter was, which was roughly the story of his career.

He finished with more than 5,400 kick-return yards, a short stop with the Jets, and a ring. A first-round running back who made his living on special teams is not what anyone drafted, but it kept him in the league for seven years.