NFL Draft intel: Does injury affect potential No. 1 pick's stock?

Each week, Yardbarker is monitoring the 2025 NFL Draft, scheduled for April 24-26 in Green Bay.

From a Penn State edge-rusher to a Louisville quarterback, here are five players we are tracking: 

Will Penn State edge-rusher Abdul Carter's injury affect his stock?

Carter (6-foot-3, 250 pounds) has a stress reaction in his right foot. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, doctors advised Carter to avoid surgery on his foot. The pass-rusher will work out at his pro day on March 28 after opting out of the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis earlier this week. 

"I couldn't be more confident that this will be a non-factor where he's drafted," Carter's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said Thursday, per Schefter. "He will put on a show on his pro day."

Teams should monitor Carter's injury, but it's not expected to affect his stock. Two league sources told CBS Sports' Ryan Wilson they're "not worried" about it (h/t CBS Sports' Jordan Dajani).

In 16 games in the 2024 season, the first-team All-American had the FBS' seventh-most sacks (12). In his latest mock draft, ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. has the Tennessee Titans taking Carter with the No. 1 pick. 

Are the Dallas Cowboys targeting Georgia's Mykel Williams to replace star edge-rusher?

Per NFL.com's Dan Parr, Williams said he "loved" meeting with the Cowboys at the combine on Wednesday. Could he be a replacement for edge-rusher Micah Parsons? 

Parsons is set to play on the fifth-year option in 2025, but the 25-year-old has said he wants an extension. NFL Media's Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport recently reported Dallas has internally discussed "whether to pay Parsons or trade him for a king's ransom." 

Williams — who won't work out until Georgia's pro day on March 12 — could be available when the Cowboys pick at No. 12. In 12 games in 2024, the 6-foot-5, 260-pounder logged five sacks and nine tackles for loss. 

Coach reveals how high Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty could go in draft

RBs have been devalued recently. In the 2024 draft, no RBs were selected in the first round. Jeanty (5-foot-9, 215 pounds) should still be a top-20 pick.

"Love the kid. There's no way he falls outside the top 15-20 picks," an RB coach told Fox Sports' Jordan Schultz on Wednesday at the combine. "He reminds me of a taller Maurice Jones-Drew. Bowling ball with speed. Guy will be an immediate superstar." 

In nine seasons with the Jaguars and Raiders, Jones-Drew — a former UCLA star — made three Pro Bowls and earned one first-team All-Pro nod. Like Jones-Drew, Jeanty could turbocharge an NFL team's rushing attack. 

He won the 2024 Doak Walker Award as college football's best RB after rushing for the second-most yards (2,601 in 14 games) in a season in FBS history. Jeanty will work out at his pro day on March 26 instead of the combine.   

Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan seems to be a faller

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer recently reported McMillan (6-foot-5, 210 pounds) has gone from a "sure-fire top-10 guy into probably the middle of the first round." 

Teams may be worried about McMillan's ability to generate explosive plays. In 12 games in 2024, he averaged 5.1 yards after the catch, which tied for 248th in the FBS (via Pro Football Focus).

When he works out with other wideouts at the combine at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, McMillan must run a fast 40-yard dash to climb back into the top-10 range.

"Running something below 4.5 seconds would help his case," wrote ESPN's Field Yates. "It's uncommon to see receivers who run above that number get drafted in the first round, and especially the first half of it." 

Could Louisville's Tyler Shough be the QB who turns heads at the combine?

Yates tabbed Shough (6-foot-4, 224 pounds) as the QB who will generate more hype after Saturday's workouts.

"He is one of the best throwers in the draft and isn't strictly a pocket passer, as he's an easy mover who displays the ability to throw on the run and from a variety of different arm slots," Yates wrote of the 25-year-old QB.

Shough produced decent numbers in 2024 at Louisville. In 12 starts, he completed 62.7 percent of his passes for 3,195 yards and 23 touchdowns. 

However, Shough's medical history may scare teams. In his seven-year college career at Oregon, Texas Tech and Louisville, he broke his collarbone and fibula.