Penn State DE Abdul Carter declares for NFL draft. What do experts say about his draft stock?
Less than 12 hours after Penn State’s season ended in the College Football Playoff, star defensive end Abdul Carter has declared for the 2025 NFL draft.
The news was broken Friday morning by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who cited powerhouse agent Drew Rosenhaus. “I expect Abdul will be one of the top picks of this draft and a future All Pro,” Rosenhaus told him.
The decision was widely expected and appeared to be more of a formality. After all, the junior was recently ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect on the Big Board of ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. And a top-5 pick in this year’s NFL draft stands to earn at least $35 million over a four-year contract, according to Spotrac. (Picks 6-10 range from $23M to $31M.)
Carter may not have left Penn State fans with a parting win, but he turned in an unforgettable performance Thursday night in the Orange Bowl against Notre Dame. Despite a shoulder injury that made him a “gametime decision,” Carter wreaked havoc on the Fighting Irish’s offensive line.
He finished with five tackles, a sack, a QB hurry and two tackles for loss. But, as usual, his impact went even beyond the stat sheet. In the first quarter, his pressure on Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard forced an early throw that turned into an interception. And the Irish needed to constantly be aware of him on the field.
Over 16 games this season, Carter racked up a team-high 12 sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss. He was fourth on the team with 68 tackles.
He was a constant presence for the Nittany Lions, and he wasn’t averse to having some fun with it. As analysts wondered aloud leading up to Thursday’s game whether Carter would play or how close to 100% he would be, Carter posted a Twitter photo a week ago — on Jan. 2 — that depicted Darth Vader from Star Wars in a bacta tank, which quickly heals injuries. Carter then sported “DARTH VADER” written across his eye-black Thursday night.
The Nittany Lions came up short in the CFP semifinal by a score of 27-24. But it’s difficult to put the loss on Carter, who constantly earned praise throughout the night from the Orange Bowl commentators — and then his coach.
“Abdul, I’m really proud of him,” Penn State coach James Franklin said after the loss. “He gutted it out today, showed tremendous mental and physical toughness and was disruptive in the game ...”
Added agent Drew Rosenhaus, who appeared on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday: “I’ve been an NFL agent for 36 years. This is absolutely one of the toughest human beings I’ve ever been affiliated with. Just watch this guy play; he plays so hard every snap.”
The 2025 NFL draft will take place from April 24-26 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The top-5 teams in the draft order are the Tennessee Titans, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars. In recent mock drafts, CBS Sports projected the Las Vegas Raiders taking Carter at No. 6 while both USA Today Sports and NBC Sports had Carter going No. 8 to the Carolina Panthers.
This story was originally published January 10, 2025 at 9:37 AM.
