Defensive back, Wake Forest, 2020–23
Caelen Carson
- Number
- No. 1
- Height
- 6′0″
- Weight
- 195 lb
- Class (2023)
- Junior
- Hometown
- Waldorf, MD
- Born
- Mar 3, 2002
Caelen Carson played defensive back at Wake Forest (2020–23). The Dallas Cowboys took Carson in round 5, No. 174 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft.
At a glance
Career highs
10tackles, career highvs. Vanderbilt, 2023Defense
| Season | Team | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD | Hur |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Wake Forest | 25 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 2021 | Wake Forest | 31 | 26 | 0.5 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
| 2022 | Wake Forest | 15 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2023 | Wake Forest | 42 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Career | 113 | 86 | 2.5 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 0 | |
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls. A dash: the source has no number for that season (often an FCS season), and career totals count only the numbers on file.
On the roster
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Class | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Wake Forest | 1 | DB | Yr 1 | ||
| 2021 | Wake Forest | 1 | DB | Yr 2 | ||
| 2022 | Wake Forest | 1 | DB | Yr 3 | ||
| 2023 | Wake Forest | 1 | DB | Jr. (Yr 4) | 6′0″ | 195 |
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Game by game
2023 Wake Forest 11 games, 42 tackles
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31 | vs. Elon | W 37–17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 9 | vs. Vanderbilt | W 36–20 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 16 | at Old Dominion | W 27–24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 23 | vs. Georgia Tech | L 16–30 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 7 | at Clemson | L 12–17 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 14 | at Virginia Tech | L 13–30 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 21 | vs. Pittsburgh | W 21–17 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Oct 28 | vs. Florida State | L 16–41 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 2 | at Duke | L 21–24 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 11 | vs. NC State | L 6–26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 18 | at Notre Dame | L 7–45 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2022 Wake Forest 7 games, 15 tackles
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | vs. VMI | W 44–10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 10 | atVanderbilt | W 45–25 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 17 | vs. Liberty | W 37–36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Oct 29 | at Louisville | L 21–48 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 5 | atNC State | L 21–30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 12 | vs. North Carolina | L 34–36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nov 26 | atDuke | L 31–34 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2021 Wake Forest 9 games, 31 tackles, 2 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | vs.Old Dominion | W 42–10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sep 11 | vs. Norfolk State | W 41–16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Sep 18 | vs.Florida State | W 35–14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Sep 24 | at Virginia | W 37–17 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Oct 2 | vs.Louisville | W 37–34 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 9 | at Syracuse | W 40–37 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 23 | at Army | W 70–56 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 30 | vs.Duke | W 45–7 | 3 | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 6 | atNorth Carolina | L 55–58 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2020 Wake Forest 8 games, 25 tackles, 1 INT
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | Int | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 19 | atNC State | L 42–45 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 2 | vs. Campbell | W 66–14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oct 17 | vs.Virginia | W 40–23 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Oct 24 | vs.Virginia Tech | W 23–16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 31 | atSyracuse | W 38–14 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 14 | atNorth Carolina | L 53–59 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dec 12 | atLouisville | L 21–45 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dec 30 ✦ | vs. Wisconsin | L 28–42 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
| Drill | Combine 2024 | Combine or pro day 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Height | 5′11⅞″ | |
| Weight | 199 lb | |
| Arm length | 31⅜″ | |
| Hand size | 8¼″ | |
| Wingspan | 75⅝″W | |
| 40-yard dash | 4.53 s | |
| 10-yard split | 1.54 sW | |
| Vertical jump | 35½″ | |
| Broad jump | 9′6″ | |
| Bench press | 6 reps |
Combine or pro day: the source doesn’t say which. Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
3 seasons, 13 games with a stat; latest team: Dallas Cowboys.
| Season | Team | G | Tkl | Sacks | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Dallas Cowboys | 5 | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | Dallas Cowboys | 7 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026 (so far) | Dallas Cowboys | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| NFL career | 13 | 44 | 0 | 0 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.
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