David King can see Carlton being a team that rises sharply up the ladder in 2021.
The Blues were active in the trade period, bringing in Zac Williams, Adam Saad and Lachlan Fogarty.
Couple that with another pre-season into their multitude of first round draft picks and Carlton should continue their upward trajectory.
King believes the Blues have a strong spine and have done well to add speed on the periphery.
“I really like what Carlton has done. Lachie Fogarty is another one who’s probably going to fly under the radar because he’s not the big boom name of the other two, but they’re building, they really are building,” King told SEN Breakfast.
“They’re adding to the edges. They’ve got a great spine. Carlton’s not going to gradually bring their way up the ladder, they’re just going to go bang.
“They’re going to take a giant stride. I’m excited by Carlton.”
Despite that, King doesn’t believe it would be the end of the world if the Blues miss the eight in 2021.
“I think Carlton now is well beyond the green shoots discussion,” he said.
“I don’t get caught up in whether you’re playing finals or not because I think if you finish 10th as opposed to finishing 7th, is that a radical difference in the chase to the premiership, probably not.
“It’s all about gearing to win a flag. If you’re gearing to make finals, you’ll be stuck in that mid-table section for a decade.
“Carlton won seven games last year and the Magpies won 9.5 to sneak into the top eight. Do those guys make two wins difference? You probably think they do.”