Jets' Potential Top Draft Pick Dominates In College Football Playoff Semifinal

One of the Jets' top draft targets dominated on Thursday night.
Aug 12, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Jets helmet on the sidelines against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Aug 12, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Jets helmet on the sidelines against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
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The New York Jets hold the No. 7 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and there's a lot they could do with that pick. While the Jets could pursue a quarterback, cornerback, or wide receiver, one of the biggest holes on the team is going to be left by free agent Haason Reddick.

The obvious solution to this problem is to spend that No. 7 pick on Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter. Carter is the top edge rusher in the draft and it's not particularly close.

On Thursday night, the Penn State edge rusher showed exactly why he's a top ten talent as he dominated in the College Football Playoff Semifinal.

Carter wasn't expected to play because of a serious shoulder injury. But the Penn State star showcased quite a bit of toughness as he opted to play through the injury in an attempt to help push his school to the National Championship.

The 6 foot 3 edge rusher finished the game with a sack, two tackles for loss, and a pass breakup, but his impact goes far beyond the stat sheet. When he wasn't filling up the box score, he was pressuring the quarterback and blowing up plays.

Unfortunately for Carter and the Nittany Lions, his performance wasn't enough to carry Penn State to the National Championship. Penn State fell to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish by a final score of 27 to 24.

This game brings his season totals to 12 sacks, 24.5 tackles for loss, and four passes defensed. He'll be a top ten pick in the upcoming draft. Could he land with the Jets at pick No. 7?

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Zach Pressnell
ZACH PRESSNELL

Zach Pressnell has experience covering all major US sports at both the professional and collegiate levels. He’s produced content for FanSided, Blog Red Machine, The Game Haus, Bethany College Athletics and the Bethany College online newspaper, He graduated from Bethany College (WV) with a degree in Communications and Media Arts, specializing in Sports Journalism. Pressnell was also a four-year member of the baseball team where he earned himself All-PAC recognition as a pitcher (and a cool Tommy John surgery scar). Now, Pressnell specializes in NFL and MLB coverage for Sports Illustrated’s “On SI” network among others. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "New York Jets On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org