Abdul Carter is considered by NFL experts to be the top prospect in this draft, mainly challenged by two-way sensation and Heisman winner Travis Hunter.
That makes Carter a surefire top-five pick, potentially even taken first overall over quarterback Cam Ward by the Titans, who desperately need a new starting QB.
However, in a mock draft from the 33rd Team, Abdul Carter falls out of the top five to no. 7, where the New York Jets would gladly scoop up the elite pass rusher.
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If teams are drafted based on need rather than the best player available, an argument for this could be made, but no team in their right mind should be passing on a top prospect at a premier position unless they are taking a different player at a premier position.
Cam Ward, Travis Hunter, and Shedeur Sanders are okay picks to go ahead of Carter, but him falling beyond picks four, five, and six with the Patriots, the Jaguars, and the Raiders would be insane.
The New York Jets would get a gift of a prospect at seven, making the rest of their draft feel like extra after clearly winning the first round.
What makes Carter so promising as a prospect is his elite athleticism and production while at Penn State, where he showed potential to be a game-breaker in the NFL.
Those types of players on defense are rare to find, making them extremely valuable. Among the other pass rushers in this year's draft class, there are good ones, but nobody with as near the potential as Carter.
Carter even capped off his great college career by playing well on the biggest stage, looking dominant in the College Football Playoff as a senior.
The combination of all those things makes Carter more likely to go number one overall than to fall to seven.
Some other top prospects also fall in this mock draft.
Tetairoa McMillan falls to the Seattle Seahawks at pick 18, which while seems unlikely, isn't that far off from a few other mocks who are down on McMillan.
Will Johnson and Malaki Starks are also big names who fall significantly, although they are both players who are falling a bit in many mock drafts.
Johnson doesn't go until pick 21 to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who would gladly take Johnson there as long as they don't feel pressed to take a quarterback.
Starks falls all the way to the Buffalo Bills at pick 30, which would be an intriguing pick for the team that can't seem to overcome Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Maybe an elite safety can help with that.
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This story was originally published March 15, 2025 at 3:44 PM.