An undrafted running back out of Michigan State who parlayed a strong Falcons training camp into a spot on the 53-man roster.
Nathan Carter is a rookie running back for the Falcons who transferred from UConn to Michigan State for his final college seasons and then went undrafted in 2025. A standout preseason, including a long touchdown run against Tennessee, was enough to win him a roster spot in Atlanta.
Path to the league
Carter began his college career at UConn, where he started games in 2021 and 2022 and topped 500 rushing yards as a redshirt freshman. He transferred to Michigan State for the 2023 and 2024 seasons, closing his Spartans career with 116 carries for 499 yards and five touchdowns as a senior, plus 18 receptions for 173 yards and two more scores. He went unselected in the 2025 NFL Draft and signed with Atlanta as an undrafted free agent.
Career highlights
Carter's calling card entering the league was his athleticism, highlighted by a strong pro day that included a reported 40-inch vertical jump and 23 bench press reps. He turned heads in his first Falcons training camp with a 43-yard touchdown run in the preseason opener against Tennessee, part of a stretch in which he carried the ball 16 times for 85 yards and a score across three preseason games.
2025 season recap
Carter made the Falcons' initial 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie and saw limited but real regular-season action, appearing in seven games with nine carries for 60 yards, a 6.7-yard average, behind Atlanta's veteran backfield.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Nathan Carter (American football)
- ESPN: Nathan Carter
Statistics
2025 season and career2025 Season · Rushing
7 games played▶Rushing · career
| Year | Team | GP | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | falcons | 7 | 9 | 60 | 6.7 | 0 | 12 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Running Back
- Group
- offense
- College
- Michigan State
- Hometown
- Rochester, NY, USA
- Age
- 24
- Status
- active