EXCLUSIVE
‘Absolute physical freak’ – Why Abdul Carter should be No. 1 NFL Draft pick despite foot surgery scare
Abdul Carter has made a huge decision about his NFL future.
NFL teams have a similarly important decision to make about Abdul, who has been described as an "absolute physical freak."
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"He is a disruption monster. He's a Sunday game wrecker," NFL Draft expert Simon Clancy exclusively told talkSPORT.
Carter stands 6ft 3in, weighs 252lbs, and entered the NFL Combine topping mock drafts across the globe.
He was so confident about his looming pro career that he proudly placed himself above Colorado stars Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders during a media interview.
"I feel like I'm the best player in the country and the best player should be picked first," the 21-year-old Carter said.
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"It's the work I put in with my dad, who trained me, and all the sacrifices I made. I know I'm the best."
But soon after that statement was made, Carter stared at an NFL crossroads.
The potential No. 1 overall pick in April discovered a stress reaction in his right foot and considered surgery.
Carter could have accepted that foot surgery was his best path forward, have a screw inserted in his foot, and returned to football activities in about two months.
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Instead, the former Penn State edge rusher will skip surgery and participate in the Nittany Lions' pro day on March 28, according to ESPN.
Surgery or not, there's no one like Carter in the draft, and he could be pro football's next dominant defender.
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"He has got unbelievable bend and this quick twitch athleticism -- you could quickly see him become a double-digit sack artist in the NFL," Clancy said.
"He's the only true tier-one pass rusher in the draft."
The Philadelphia-born Carter finished sixth in Penn State history in sacks (23) and was eighth in tackles for loss (39.5).
He appeared in 42 games for the Big Ten school, recording 172 combined tackles, five forced fumbles and 13 passes defensed.
With the Eagles using a dominating defensive line to blow out Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX, Carter's talent is ready-made for the cookie-cutter NFL.
"You only had to see in the Super Bowl how Philadelphia (was) able to dominate," Clancy said. "Throughout the playoffs, but also then in the Super Bowl, how they were able to dominate with that defensive line."
Clancy highlighted Carter's 'bend' as one of his defining on-field traits.
"He was an inside linebacker who kicked up to to edge in 2024," the draft expert said.
"He is like Gumby. He is so bendy.
"His size goes against him a little bit in the run game, and he can get out and get moved out by tackles and even occasionally by tight ends.
"But there's also times where he just runs through peoples' chests in the run game, because he's just desperate to get to the ball.
"As a pass rusher, he is so quick off the ball. His first two steps are insanely fast."
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Jadeveon Clowney entered the 2014 NFL Draft with character and commitment concerns.
The former South Carolina star still went No. 1 overall to the Houston Texans, and has totaled 58 sacks with three Pro Bowl selections, despite never living up to his top-pick status.
Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt, Micah Parsons, Nick Bosa, and Will Anderson Jr. have all shown the value of having an elite rusher who can win battles along the line.
Carter's huge decision about potential foot surgery could scare off some NFL teams.
But it just takes one franchise to believe in him, and it will be hard for the rebuilding Tennessee Titans to pass on an "absolute physical freak" with the upcoming No. 1 pick.
"His ceiling is massive," Clancy said.
"We're all prisoners of the moment in this kind of thing. But I can't remember seeing a guy with this much bend in the last four or five years."
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If the Titans pass on Carter, the Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars could be waiting to scoop up a highly athletic rusher with top-of-the-draft talent.
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