Patriots Draft Profile: Is Abdul Carter In Consideration At No. 4?

The New England Patriots essentially have three options with the No. 4 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Travis Hunter, Abdul Carter or Will Campbell.

Yes, there’s a chance they trade the selection, but we’re focused on prospects who could actually be taken in that spot. Hunter feels like the most obvious choice, as his two-way ability makes him the most valuable player in the entire draft, in our opinion. Campbell could fill the last major need in New England, whether he has short arms or not. Carter, well, he’s an interesting case after seeing what else happened this offseason.

Mike Vrabel and Terrell Williams plan to deploy some new ideologies during their second stint working together, with the latter planning to bring speed and aggression to the defense. New England already did a decent job of adding players who fit the mold during free agency, but Milton Williams, Harold Landry and Robert Spillane could still use supplementary pieces around them.

Carter would be the best possible option, while also possessing the ceiling of a potential superstar.

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OVERVIEW

Carter will receive plenty of comps to other Penn State defenders who wore No. 11.

*gestures up two inches*

We think there’s something that separates him from the likes of Chop Robinson, Micah Parsons and Brandon Bell, however. Carter is polished in nearly everything he does and has already moved between off-ball and on-ball responsibilities.

The Nittany Lions essentially fell into having the best pass-rusher in the country by accident, as the 22-year-old initially started his career as an off-ball linebacker who occasionally was allowed to blitz. Penn State realized he did that better than anyone else, so they chucked him on the line prior to his final season and watched him feast in his new role.

Yes, it’s only been one season and he’s already viewed as a franchise-changing rusher — so just keep that in mind as we dive deeper into his

NFL SCOUTING COMBINE

Carter didn’t do much of anything at the combine, because he didn’t need to.

Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 250lbs

STRENGTHS

Carter is one of the better overall athletes we’ve seen come out of the draft in recent seasons, and we know that despite the lack of testing numbers at the combine. It’s extremely natural, too, as he explodes off the ball, has a shockingly quick first step and displays exceptional bend and ankle flexion around the edge.

Did we get too nerdy on you?

Good, because we have more dumb terms. Carter is naturally violent in everything he does, has great spatial awareness, has developed one of the best “cross-chop” in the country and does it all with the competitive toughness you’d hope for out of a top-five pick.

Okay, we’re done now.

WEAKNESSES

Carter could work on his balance because there are way too many instances of him ending up on the ground without much help from others.

We also can’t act like he’s a fully finished product, but given his talent, is that a bad thing?

SO… IS HE WORTH TAKING AT NO. 4?

Yes, absolutely.

The Patriots should have an order of operations when it comes to No. 4 — Hunter, then Carter, then Campbell.

It’s that simple, folks. Don’t overtink it.

If you’d like more individual profiles, check out the full series.