With the NFL Playoffs officially underway and a few other leagues ramping up their regular season play, the Blue Zone is here with another edition of Duke in the pros:
DeWayne Carter
The Buffalo Bills boast one of the most impressive offenses in the NFL; however, the team’s success would be impossible without the efforts of its defense. Throughout the season, the Bills have shown few holes in their defense, but an ability to stop the run has been one of the few glaring ones. The potential solution moving forward: the 6-foot-3, 305-pound former Blue Devil defensive tackle DeWayne Carter.
Carter played a minimal role in the Bills defense this season, primarily serving as a backup and rotational piece on the defensive line. Despite playing limited snaps and a four-week absence from the field with a wrist injury, Carter performed well when he was called upon. In his limited opportunities, Carter recorded five tackles for loss, 14 tackles and a pass deflection. With veteran nose tackle DaQuan Jones’s contract set to expire following the 2025 season, the Duke product can expect to see a higher snap volume moving forward and have plenty of opportunities to continue building his resume.
Zion Williamson
Cooper Flagg is blowing minds with his jaw-dropping dunks in Cameron Indoor Stadium, but he is far from the first to do so. Perhaps one of the best to do it in Duke’s history, Zion Williamson has continued to play at a high level since leaving the Blue Devils, with his college play translating well to the league, allowing him to become a standout player for the New Orleans Pelicans. Williamson turned in an impressive 2023-24 campaign, averaging just short of 23 points and six rebounds a game.
The Pelican forward’s season this year has been heavily marred by injury. Williamson missed most of November and all of December with a hamstring injury. In the time that he has played, though, the Duke alum has nearly matched his point-per-game averages from last season despite the Pelican’s struggles overall. In addition to missing time to injury, Williamson was slapped with a single-game suspension last Thursday that kept him from playing against the Philadelphia 76ers the next day. Sitting at the bottom of the Western Conference with an 8-32 record, it's hard to imagine playoff success for the Pelicans, though Williamson seems ready to return to play and remind the league why he was taken first overall almost six years ago.
Max Greyserman
Since becoming a professional golfer in 2017, Max Greyserman has consistently performed well in tournament play, with 2024 marking one of the best years in the Duke alum’s career. Greyserman recorded a personal best in strokes gained over the course of the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open, tying for seventh in the competition. Despite the successes of the 2024 year, a win continued to evade the once Blue Devil golfer, with Greyserman tallying three top-five finishes, including two solo second finishes.
Greyserman has started the 2025 year off strong, participating in The Sentry from January 2-5. The 29-year-old golfer tied for 24th place, though his performance was largely handicapped by a damaging double bogey in the first round. Following the slip-up, however, Greyserman finished strong, tallying up 26 birdies to only four bogeys. Moving into the new year, Greyserman is poised to secure his first career victory, provided the former Duke golfer can avoid crucial first-round mistakes.
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