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Three 2025 NFL Draft prospects to watch from Penn State
Penn State linebacker Abdul Carter. Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK

Three 2025 NFL Draft prospects to watch from Penn State

By William Schwartz  |  Last updated Jul 11, 2024 12:00 AM ET

After years of being stuck behind the Michigan-Ohio State diarchy in the Big Ten, Penn State is one of the biggest beneficiaries of all of the changes to college football. No more divisions in the Big Ten means they won't be forced to play the same two juggernauts every year, and a 12-team playoff means that their serial "good-not-great" 10-2 seasons would be enough for a seat at a table.

More spotlight is also a big deal for the program's players on an individual level, as each could be in line for more attention as they make a push for the NFL. With higher stakes in more games for the Nittany Lions, we'll get a serious look at how their top players perform under pressure. 

Here are the top three Penn State prospects to watch ahead of the NFL Draft, which begins on April 24, 2025: 

Abdul Carter | Edge-rusher

ESPN's Matt Miller on Carter: "A game-changing performer"

Prospect ranking: Pro Football Focus (No. 18), Tankathon (No. 18), Pro Football Network (No. 8)

Carter wasn't particularly prolific in 2023, but now that he won't be forced to share time with a talent quite like Chop Robinson, a 2024 first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins, he could be in for a very big season. With that being said, the presence of Robinson forced Carter to spend a good amount of time playing off-ball, developing versatility that could be valuable at the next level.

Even though the experience of playing in different spots could be helpful in the long run, moving to a full-time role in his natural role on the line of scrimmage could be the catalyst for a very productive campaign. He should receive plenty of credit for being the centerpiece of what looks like it will be a fantastic Penn State defense, and could be an immediate contributor to any NFL defense. At 6-foot-3 and 258 pounds, Carter does lack the bulk of most NFL players at the position, but could fill out a bit more, and brings plenty of quickness to the table, which allowed him to play off-ball last year.

This won't be the case for every player on this list, but every evaluator is high on Carter's ability to perform at the next level. It's a solid class of edge-rushers, but Carter looks to be one of the top three to five players at the position, which will almost always mean a first-round selection.

Kevin Winston Jr. | Safety

247 Sports's Brian Dohn on Winston: "Good frame with plus length"

Prospect ranking: Pro Football Focus (No. 22), Tankathon (No. 43), Pro Football Network (Not ranked)

Fundamental soundness is one of the best traits a prospect can have, and nobody's more consistent than Winston when it comes to doing the little things right. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound safety rarely if ever misses a tackle, consistently grades as one of the best hitters in the country and has shown no sign of slowing down- quite the opposite has been true, in fact, as his progression has been quite impressive. 

Winston didn't earn a full-time starting role at Penn State until last year, but he immediately made the most of it with a highly productive season; he racked up 60 tackles, including 35 solo and 2.5 for loss, as well as two fumble recoveries, five pass breakups, and a pick.

Interestingly enough, Pro Football Network left Winston entirely outside of their top-100, not even bestowing an "honorable mention" upon the safety, but most sources around the industry regard him very highly; and expect him to be picked before the second round is over, if not earlier. 

Drew Allar | Quarterback

Sporting News's Crissy Froyd on Allar: "Could get better in the deep passing game"

Prospect ranking: Pro Football Focus (No. 61), Tankathon (No. 55), Pro Football Network (No. 57)

On day six of our prospect review series, we have arrived at our first definitively negative player review, as we discuss Penn State's former five-star recruit quarterback, who has completely failed to deliver on expectations thus far. There's hope that things could be much better this year for Allar, after Penn State parted ways with offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, with Andy Kotelnicki now in that role with the hopes of replicating some of the successes he had at Kansas, but Allar will need to take strides of his own.

Allar takes good care of the football, as evidenced by his low interception numbers, but is he too careful? He's often quick to throw the ball away and is prone to incompletions on overly-careful throws that land nowhere near a player from either team. The arm talent is there, he was a five-star player for a reason and has shown flashes of that ability. Unfortunately, the glimpses have been too few and far between, and he'll need a major breakout to live up to the draft position many expected of him when he started out in State College.

Speaking of draft position, there might be no player in this year's class who has more to gain or lose from this season than Allar, who certainly has an NFL build at 6-foot-5 and 238 pounds. Right now, he's graded to go somewhere in the middle of day two, but a good year could see him rise through a lackluster quarterback class into the first round, while more letdowns even after his offense changed to a more friendly system could drop him into the late rounds.

William Schwartz

William Schwartz has been writing about sports since middle school, when he started his own blog. Since then, he has written in every capacity from school newspapers to sports news outlets. He graduated from the University of Michigan and his goal is to provide readers with entertainment, insight, and strong analysis on all of your favorite teams and players

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