Scouting Profile: Abdul Carter - EDGE - Penn State
Sales Pitch: Explosive bendy rusher with elite physical tools. Still needs to polish up the nuances of his game but has all the makings of a game wrecking defender.
*Gold Numbers Indicate NCAA Top-25 for 2024*
*Red Numbers Indicate NCAA Bottom-25 for 2024*
Scouting Report
Abdul Carter is a former 4-Star recruit from the state of Pennsylvania. He originally began his Penn State career as an off-ball linebacker, where he received All-Big 10 honors in both 2022 and 2023 before moving to edge rusher prior to 2024 season. In 2024 Carter was one of the best defenders in college football with 66 pressure and 13 sacks on his way to unanimous All-American honors and a Big-10 Defensive Player of the Year.
Carter is a rare athlete for the position. He has an explosive first step with tremendous body control to go with some of the best pound for pound strength in this class. He is a relentless rusher off the edge, who plays with a ton of energy. Carter is an elite speed rusher. His quickness off the line often lets him beat tackles without any moves. He has the change of direction skills to win back across a tackles’ face and the power to blow through their chest. Despite being a first year full time edge in 2024, Carter shows a solid pass rush plan. He has quick powerful hands that are quick to discard lineman with rip moves and arm overs. Carter displays the core strength and flexibility to stay on his line and turn the corner. Once he gets a step at the top of his rush, he has the closing speed to drive and finish on quarterbacks. Carter’s experience as an off-ball linebacker makes him very comfortable in space. He displays elite sideline to sideline speed and the block shed ability to quickly defeat blockers. Even without amazing size, he has the natural leverage and play strength to hold up at the point of attack in the run game. Carter’s athletic gifts make him a versatile defensive weapon. He is able to rush the passer from a variety of alignments and is able to spy mobile QBs if asked.
Carter had an excellent 2024 season despite being relatively new to the position. He primarily wins with his physical gifts and will need to continue polishing his pass rush moves and add more counters. The biggest area of improvement required of Carter at the next level will come in the run game. Penn State allowed him to freelance a lot in order to optimize his playmaking ability, but it tended to leave him out of position. His aggressive play style resulted in him running himself out of plays, and leaving his teammates to clean up behind him. Carter has solid football instincts but he gets caught with his eyes in the backfield chasing misdirection far too often. At his size he also doesn’t project to be able to hold up versus double teams in the run game. He shouldn’t be asked to reduce down and hold his gap on early downs. Carter also needs to clean up his tackling technique. His aggressive nature is a positive trait but he tends to be out of control in space. He will run by ball carriers and whiff tackles far too often.
Carter has the profile of an elite pass rusher off the edge. In spite of limited experience he has a competent set of moves to go with elite physical traits. Carter projects as a high octane speed rusher with the strength to hold up as a run defender. His physical tools alone would make him the top edge in this class, but combined with his production it makes him a legit candidate to hold the title of #1 overall player.