Buffalo’s DeWayne Carter talks community, culture, and sacks at his first media day

A natural and inspiring leader, Carter is eager to get to work in Buffalo

The Buffalo Bills added to their defensive line when they chose Duke tackle DeWayne Carter with the 95th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, and it wasn’t long before the 6’3” former Blue Devil got to meet the Buffalo media.

“I can’t wait to get here, learn the landscape, learn Buffalo, and actually figure out, you know, where I can make the biggest impact, where it will be taking my community outside of this facility and you know the team,” Carter talked about being more than a football player and the psychology major said he wanted to immerse himself in the community and find his place on the field and in the streets. “So I got to get my boots on the ground, figure it out.”

He wasn’t unaware of how big his draft moment was and what it meant for his future.

“It’s unreal. The NFL is obviously the highest league in the world, so I mean, just getting to be here and then seeing, you know, my name on the jersey for the first time, seeing the locker, you know, it was mine,” he made a list I just, I don’t know, like I keep saying, it’s just so surreal for me.”

Carter said that he is excited to learn from guys like Von Miller and Ed Oliver saying that he watched them early on in his college career and to now have the opportunity to line up alongside them will only help him elevate his own game.

“You gotta study the game. At the end of the day and it’s week by week, and especially at this league, I mean, you’re playing the best of the best — the best coaches, best players. Everybody’s good. Everybody’s the lead,” he said “You got to do anything to find yourself an edge. For me a big thing is trying to know what’s coming before it actually happens. So, a lot of times like you’ll see me there with the linebacker, just trying to stand up, looking around, trying to figure out what I can recognize, you know, just to get a little head start right here the first time.”

When asked why he never entered the transfer portal in college, Carter gave the most Buffalo answer possible

“I mean, you talk about culture, you talk about love, you talk about brotherhood,” he said that was what was built in his time at Duke. “That’s who we are and that’s what I hope they will always be. I’m just — a lot of great guys in that locker room and, obviously, someone who was having success. But nothing meant more to me than relationships that I had with those guys.”

Now Carter will be building relationships with new players in a new locker room. But, he’ll still see one of his nemeses from his days at Duke. “

I own a couple of sacks from this past year,” he talked about playing against newly drafted New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. “It’s funny now, Drake. He’s a great quarterback and he’s a really smart guy, He’s a competitor and he didn’t really say much on the field either. And just goes about his business and scores touchdowns. So, you know, I can’t wait to get after him, continue to compete.”

Get involved in your community. Work hard. Build relationships. Live a culture. Sack a New England quarterback. Carter is going to fit in just fine at One Bills Drive.

You can listen to his full media day here: