NFL Draft: Could Abdul Carter Become Penn State’s First No. 1 Pick Since 2000? One Analyst Says Yes
After moving from linebacker to defensive end last offseason, Abdul Carter launched himself into the conversation for the number one overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft with a monster season for the Nittany Lions.
Over the course of Penn State’s 16 games in the 2024 season, Carter racked up an astonishing 24 tackles for a loss, 12 sacks, and two forced fumbles on the way to unanimous All-American honors.
Carter proved this season that he is among the most talented players in college football and in the NFL draft this season, but could this result in him hearing his name first overall in April?
One NFL draft analyst believes that Carter’s “generational talent” could be just too great for the Tennessee Titans to pass up with the first pick.
ESPN’s Matt Miller suggests Carter could go off the board No. 1 overall.
“Titans president Chad Brinker said the team will not pass on a generational talent with the No. 1 pick,” Miller writes for ESPN. “Carter is the closest thing to that. After showing situational pass-rush ability in his first two seasons, Penn State made him a full-time edge rusher in 2024. Carter turned in a dominant performance with 12 sacks, 61 hurries and an FBS-best edge pressure percentage of 19.6%.
“If that sounds like Micah Parsons … well, it should. Like Parsons, Carter is a player you can build a defense around. And while Tennessee has needs at quarterback and right tackle, this might be a case where it’s better to draft the best player on the board versus reaching for need.”
What Abdul Carter Going No. 1 Would Mean for Penn State
Although Penn State has seen plenty of players picked in the first round during the James Franklin era, Penn State has not seen a Nittany Lion go first overall in the NFL draft since 2000.
In 2018, James Franklin produced his highest pick in his tenure, watching star running back Saquon Barkley be selected second overall by the New York Giants.
Before Franklin’s tenure, defensive end Courtney Brown was the last Nittany Lion selected first overall, by the Cleveland Browns in the 2000 NFL draft.
Interestingly, the 2000 draft was one of the most impressive for the Nittany Lions, with players selected first and second overall (Lavar Arrington). Before that, former Nittany Lions running back Ki-Jana Carter became the first Penn State player to be selected first overall in the NFL draft in the 1995 draft by the Cincinnati Bengals.
Once again, Penn State had two players selected in the top five picks in 1995 with quarterback Kerry Collins selected fifth overall by the Carolina Panthers. Tight End Kyle Brady was also selected in the top 10 that year, going ninth overall to the New York Jets giving the Nittany Lions three top 10 picks.
Will Abdul Carter Have Company in the First Round of the NFL Draft?
In the 2025 draft, star tight end Tyler Warren will try to give Penn State two top-ten picks again for the first time since 2000. NFL draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah ranks Tyler Warren fifth overall in the 2025 draft class, with Warren being selected seventh overall by the New York Jets in his latest mock draft.
Carter and Warren hope to add to Penn State’s six first-round selections in the James Franklin era. Carter may add to the illustrious history of the Stix by becoming the first player to wear the iconic number 11 at Penn State to hear his name called first overall.
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