Abdul Carter was an All-Big Ten linebacker in 2023 and already on the NFL’s radar for the 2025 draft, but after an offseason position change to defensive end and a 12-sack season, Carter is in the mix to be the No. 1 overall pick this spring. The Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year declared for the draft in the wake of Penn State’s Orange Bowl loss to Notre Dame and while every team at the top of the draft wants him, where should Carter want to start his professional career?
Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders could leapfrog Carter as QB-needy teams attempt to solve their franchise’s biggest problem on draft day, but the athletic 6-foot-3 edge rusher will still be at the top of most draft boards. He finished the year with 66 quarterback pressures, over 20 tackles for loss, and a staggering 22.6% pass rush win rate, the seventh most in the country among players with at least 100 pass-rushing snaps. He’s a near-lock to be a top-10 pick.
These three teams picking near the top of the 2025 NFL Draft would be the best landing spots for Abdul Carter.
The Raiders have to take a quarterback in the first round… probably. Aidan O’Connell is not the long-term answer in Vegas, but the incoming head coach, possibly Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, may view the former Purdue QB as a viable bridge to a better QB draft class. If that’s the case then the Raiders could spend another first-round pick along the defensive line after two underwhelming years from Tyree Wilson.
If Carter got to start his career rushing opposite Max Crosby, that would be a pretty good recipe for success, though potentially a bit of a redundant selection for a Raiders team with more than a few needs on its roster.
Defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero prefers to feature athletic stand-up 3-4 outside linebacker types on the edge and while Carter was a 4-3 defensive end at Penn State, his history as a linebacker will provide the versatility needed to fit Carolina’s scheme, while filling a desperate need for the Panthers. Jadeveon Clowney was the Panther’s No. 1 edge rusher this season, and while he’s had a nice late-career resurgence, he’s just not cut out for that role any longer.
Carter would get the opposing offense’s full attention, but would also enter Carolina as the team’s clear defensive foundation with a DC who understands how to get the most out of him.
Almost anywhere that Carter goes in the NFL, he’s going to see superstar pass rusher attention from the opposing offense starting in Week 1 of next season. In Cleveland, the superstar is Myles Garrett. The Browns have plenty of problems on their roster, but a pass-rushing duo of Garrett and Carter would cover up for a lot of them.
The Browns might be the only destination in the top-10 where Carter would almost never see a double-team as a rookie and that’s a recipe for a 10-15 sack season.