With Penn State’s run to the semifinals of the 12-team College Football Playoff, the Nittany Lions have an extended window to make their decisions about the transfer portal, and crucially, declaring for the NFL draft. Penn State already lost one of its most important future pieces to the portal when backup QB Beau Pribula departed the team and landed at Missouri, and others could follow him after the 2024 season ends, but the bigger questions on this roster are about which draft-eligible players will be heading to the league this spring.
Junior safety Kevin Winston Jr. who missed nearly the entire season with a knee injury, has already declared for the 2025 draft, and seniors like Mackey Award winner Tyler Warren and star safety Jaylen Reed will be out of eligibility, but these five players will face the toughest draft decision this offseason.
Abdul Carter has yet to declare for the 2025 NFL Draft, but he’s certain to after Penn State’s season wraps up. Even with a mysterious arm injury, which he suffered in the Fiesta Bowl win over Boise State, and has his status for the Orange Bowl against Notre Dame up in the air, he’ll be a top-10 pick.
The former linebacker immediately developed into a star defensive end after an offseason position change, and he finished the year with 21.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks. He’ll be a transformational pass rusher for any defense in the NFL, much like the most recent Nittany Lions to wear No. 11, Micah Parsons.
Just hours after Pribula announced that he was leaving Happy Valley for the transfer portal, it was reported that junior quarterback Drew Allar intends to return to Penn State for his final year of eligibility. However, there have been two games since that announcement, each more exciting to NFL evaluators. Allar has the tools to be a first-round NFL draft pick and in a weak 2025 quarterback class, he could be the best option.
If Allar continues to play well in the College Football Playoff or even leads the Nittany Lions to a national championship, he could change his mind and head for the league this spring.
Nicholas Singleton has been on NFL radars since he burst onto the scene with a 1,000-yard season as a true freshman in 2022. However, there are now rumors that Singleton, and both Lawn Boyz for that matter, are planning on heading back to Happy Valley next year.
With Singleton’s remarkable production at such a young age, he’d be a perfect running back to rise up draft boards. He has a long runway before aging out of effectiveness and would enter the league with plenty of tread left on the tires, considering he splits time with Kaytron Allen. Even with the rumored return, I’d be surprised to see Singleton in blue and white in 2025.
The story is a bit different for Kaytron Allen, who appears more likely to stay at Penn State next season. Allen has largely been RB2 to Singleton throughout his career, which means he enters the league with less of a risk of breaking down, but also with a lower draft profile. Allen would be selected in the 2025 NFL draft if he enters, but likely not until Day 3, and at that point his NIL payday to stay at Penn State could be comparable.
Carter steals all the headlines along Penn State’s defensive line, but Durant has been a monster on the interior at just 6-foot-1 and 288 pounds. Durant will be undersized for the NFL, but his production with 27 QB pressures and four sacks in 2024 will make scouts take notice. Durant appears likely to return, but a dominant performance in either the Orange Bowl or a potential national championship matchup with Texas or Ohio State could change his mind.