Abdul Carter ditches Nick Bosa in his top 5 pass rushers in NFL list

One of the top pass-rushing prospects in this year’s NFL Draft doesn’t seem to think too highly of Nick Bosa. Abdul Carter is being pegged to be the first defensive lineman to go off the board in April maybe even at #1.

The 2024 Unanimous All-American out of Penn State was asked ahead of the NFL Combine who he considered today’s top five pass rushers in the NFL. This was his response:

One Micah Parsons, two Myles Garrett, three T.J. Watt, four Jonathan Greenard, and five well before he got hurt, he probably would have been one this year, Aidan Hutchinson.

Bosa, the 2022 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, did not figure on his list despite making it to the Pro Bowl in 2024 for the fifth time in his NFL career. The 27-year-old had a career-low nine sacks for the San Francisco 49ers this past season with one interception but also tied a career-high for assisted tackles with 19.

The Florida native’s best NFL season in terms of sacks came in 2022, when he had 18.5, a mark that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ T.J. Watt bested the following season with 19. Carter’s college numbers were better than Bosa’s, with the former boasting 23 sacks in three seasons and the latter totaling 17.5 sacks in three years at Ohio State.

Hutchinson, who came in at #5 on Carter’s list, registered 7.5 sacks in 2024, though he only played in five games. Jonathan Greenard had 12 sacks for the Minnesota Vikings, T.J. Watt had 11.5, Micah Parsons had 12, and Myles Garrett had 14.

The Buckeyes-Nittany Lions rivalry

Perhaps omitting the league’s Defensive Rookie of the Year was a conscious decision for Carter not to create waves with his alma mater.

Penn State and Ohio State are longtime football rivals. Those are two fan bases that love to hate each other. While Carter and Bosa never played against each other, it’s possible Carter didn’t want to make enemies with the passionate Nittany Lion supporters.

Lately, the head-to-head history between the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes has been all Ohio State. The Buckeyes have won the last eight matchups. The last meeting in November saw the Buckeyes claim a 20-13 victory, with Carter held to just two tackles and without a sack.

In his three meetings against Ohio State, Carter only registered one total sack in a 44-31 loss to them in October 2022.

Bosa, for his part, played Penn State three times in college and had just a single sack and one tackle, with the Buckeyes winning two of three meetings when he was there.