The Patriots won 13 games this season, which meant that they awarded practice player of the week honors 13 different times. The practice player of the week is awarded to those who the coaching staff feels best prepared the Patriots in the days leading up to a victory. Practice players of the week wear a black jersey on those weeks in recognition of their work. Rookie Markell Carter, the sixth-round draft choice from Central Arkansas, earned the highest total of black jerseys this season (7).
Markell Carter tops practice rankings – New England Patriots Blog – ESPN Boston
This is a very good sign for next year. We all knew Carter would need some time to develop after coming out of a small college, but all reports about how he’s done this year have been positive. He’s also added some weight.
Now the question becomes where does he fit on defense? Is he an OLB hybrid type? Or could he play 4-3 defensive end like Andre Carter where it would be necessary to be extremely stout at the point of attack. These are questions to weigh in the off-season, but Carter should be an interesting player to watch in camp this summer.