Penn State's Abdul Carter, Drew Allar Make Influential 2025 NFL Draft 'Big Board'

Carter is No. 2 on The Athletic's list of the top prospects in next year's NFL Draft.

Penn State's Abdul Carter (11) rushes the passer against Rutgers. / Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Abdul Carter is generating the kind of preseason attention as a junior that Micah Parsons might have in 2020, had he played his third season of Penn State football. Notably, Carter is earning comparisons to Parsons as well. The latest has Carter as the No. 2 overall prospect of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Dane Brugler, The Athletic's draft expert, released his preseason "Big Board" of the top 50 prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft. Carter, Penn State's newly minted defensive edge, was among two intriguing Nittany Lions listed. The other is quarterback Drew Allar, who has cleaved draft analysts about his 2025 potential.

Carter, however, is a consensus top prospect, as analysts project him to make a seamless (and productive) transition from outside linebacker to edge rusher. This is the switch Parsons would have made for his junior season at Penn State in 2020. Instead, he opted out of the COVID year and took those versatile traits to the Dallas Cowboys, where he has become one of the NFL's top defensive players.

Carter was a first-team all-Big Ten linebacker last season after becoming the first Penn State freshman to record 10+ tackles for loss and 6+ sacks in a season in 2022. As Brugler noted in his NFL Draft 2025 Big Board, Carter recorded nearly 100 more snaps in coverage last season than he did in the pass rush. That will change this year.

"If his technical skill catches up with his natural talent, Carter has the impact potential to be a Parsons-like prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft," Brugler wrote.

That's one reason Carter asked to make the position switch this offseason. The preseason All-American and resident of multiple award watch lists is the Penn State defensive player who will draw the most attention from offensive coordinators. Carter will play both defensive and and linebacker for the Nittany Lions, who want to deploy his tackling range as well as his pass-rushing skills.

"At the end of the day, you're talking about one of the more explosive, physical athletes in all of college football," Penn State coach James Franklin said. "We think he has the ability to make a significant impact. Week to week we'll decide where he'll have the most impact for us, whether it's on the line of scrimmage at defensive end or in the linebacker position. ... That will also put us in a position where people can't game-plan and know exactly where he's going to be on the defense. So we're excited about that."

Likewise, Penn State is eager to test Allar, its second-year quarterback, in a new offensive system. The Nittany Lions voted Allar as a team captain, and the junior quarterback says he's confident and comfortable in coordinator Andy Kotelnicki's system. If Allar leads a more explosive offense and produces in that system, Kotelnicki might have him for just one season.

"It doesn't take long to understand the hype attached to Allar," Brugler wrote. "However, it is just as easy to spot his inexperience. I understand the skepticism, but I have hope for Allar's development because of his natural talent and the fact that his surroundings were abysmal last season..."

Penn State opens the 2024 season Aug. 31 against West Virginia. Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET on FOX.

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Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.