Abdul Carter's explosive reputation precedes his visit to New England Patriots

Syndication: Hanover Evening Sun - Source: Imagn

Penn State Edge Abdul Carter is projected to be one of the top picks in the 2025 NFL draft. Some analysts suggested that he is also a contender to be the first pick. While that seems less likely as the draft approaches, he is still projected to go within the first five.

On Thursday, it was reported by insider Albert Breer that Carter will be joining the Patriots in Foxboro for a visit on Monday. This will be the last of his four visits with teams atop the draft. He previously visited with the Titans, Browns, and Giants.

"The Patriots are hosting Penn State DE Abdul Carter in Foxboro on a 30 visit on Monday, per sources. It's the last of his four scheduled 30 visits—his plan has been to ONLY take those four, with the four teams (Titans, Browns, Giants, Patriots) atop the draft."

The coaching staff at New England is already familiar with Carter as a player. In the lead-up to the visit, Patriots outside linebackers coach Mike Smith spoke to reporter Mike Reiss about Carter's explosiveness.

"Patriots OLBs coach Mike Smith on Abdul Carter: "Explosive athlete. Still new to that position, but explosive around the edge, brings that pass-rush ability; has an aggressive style of play. I'm looking forward to talking football with him ... and seeing where his mental is at.""

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Abdul Carter projected to go to the Patriots in the 2025 NFL draft

Abdul Carter was one of the top contenders to be the first pick before the NFL combine. However, he dealt with several off-season injuries, including a stress reaction in his foot and a shoulder injury. As a result, he has fallen out of contention to be the top pick in the draft.

However, he is still viewed by many as the best player on offer. ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper had Carter going to the Giants with the third pick as per his latest mock draft on Tuesday.'The Athletic' then released their latest mock draft on Monday and had Carter going to the Patriots with the fourth pick.

The Patriots would be thrilled if Carter is still available at the fourth pick, as many mock drafts project him to go in the top three.

About the author

Alexander O'Reilly is a journalist at Sportskeeda from Kingston, Ontario with over seven years in the field at companies including SenShot, RVBlogger, Monarch Media, WordAgents, GSeC LLC, and IGC.

His favorite college team is Duke, and his favorite sporting memory was Duke winning March Madness in 2010. JJ Redick was Alex's favorite college player when he was young but more recently, Caleb Williams gets the nod. As the Chicago Bears are Alex's favorite NFL team, this was a perfect match.

Alex's proudest moment came when he was interviewed by a radio station in Ottawa on his opinion on recent moves by the Ottawa Senators, which gave him a confidence boost and the knowledge that he could succeed as a writer.

Aside from sports, Alex likes to spend his time playing games. He is also very passionate about running and strives to improve at the half and full marathon distances.

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Edited by Dipayan Moitra