Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter could be the saving grace of the 2025 NFL Draft EDGE class
Coming into the year, the EDGE class for the 2025 NFL Draft was viewed as arguably the best up top, and had impressive depth to boot. Now several weeks into the college football season, the outlook for that group has changed considerably. We have seen James Pearce Jr. (Tennessee) be quite early on, while Mykel […]
Coming into the year, the EDGE class for the 2025 NFL Draft was viewed as arguably the best up top, and had impressive depth to boot. Now several weeks into the college football season, the outlook for that group has changed considerably. We have seen James Pearce Jr. (Tennessee) be quite early on, while Mykel Williams (Georgia) has been banged up all season. That also includes an extremely poor start from Patrick Payton (Florida State) and Landon Jackson (Arkansas), and Nic Scourton (Texas A&M) looking like he is holding too much weight.
The group could recover quickly with as much talent as they have, but they will need to find some quick answers to top. They are receiving a boost lately from Penn State standout Abdul Carter, who is getting better each and every game since transitioning from linebacker this offseason. Carter is coming off of his best game so far this season against Illinois.
It was not a great start to the season for Carter, whose athleticism popped off the table, but you could tell he was doing something that was very new for him. During his first game against West Virginia, he was matched up against Wyatt Milum, who is well liked in NFL circles. Carter struggled to counteract his strong hand play and clear understanding for how to set up rushers.
Obviously there was going to be a transitional period. After spending the most of his first two years on the second level, this was a new world. The key you wanted to see was growth throughout the year. We saw that ascension during their game against Illinois this past weekend.
At 6-3 and 252 pounds, Carter is an outstanding athlete. When he participates at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine, or at the Penn State pro day, there’s a good chance that he could put the world on notice. The combination of twitch, bend and closing speed is incredible.
During that game against the Illini, Carter was obviously twitched up. The improvements you saw was from his hand usage, and ability to get off of blocks consistently. Whether it was against JC Davis and Melvin Priestly, the junior was unblockable. If this trend continues, Carter could challenge to be the first EDGE off the board come April.
