Abdul Carter surprisingly becomes Jets’ seventh overall pick selection in Yahoo’s latest mock draft

Yahoo Sports released its 7.0 mock draft on Wednesday. In this mock, star pass rusher out of Penn State, Abdul Carter, has fallen to the seventh overall pick to the New York Jets.

The mock draft saw the likes of Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter going ahead of Carter, all likely possibilities in most analysts' mock drafts across the nation. However, the mock goes on to suggest the likes of Armand Membou, Mason Graham and Ashton Jeanty being selected before Carter as well.

"The Jets would be flying to the podium if this scenario were to unfold. ... Carter would inject some real juice into a front and unit that tapered off in 2024," Yahoo Sports' Nate Tice wrote.

These are certainly interesting choices, especially Graham, the defensive tackle out of Michigan, who the mock has going to the Jacksonville Jaguars at fifth overall.

Carter is considered by most to be undoubtedly the best pass-rusher in the draft and perhaps even a generational talent. Carter comes off a season in which he recorded 68 total tackles, 12 sacks and two forced fumbles.

NCAA Football: Orange Bowl-Notre Dame at Penn State - Source: Imagn

Some projections have Carter going as high as first overall to the Tennessee Titans. Others have him slipping to fourth or fifth overall to the New England Patriots or the Jaguars, respectively. However, this mock draft has Carter going to join the New York Jets and new head coach Aaron Glenn, flanked by defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, to hopefully bring a much-needed spark back to the Jets defensive culture.

Abdul Carter could be what Jets need in 2025 NFL draft

The Jets are coming off back-to-back disappointing seasons in which many believed the franchise was ready to make deep playoff pushes. With an offense that featured so many talented weapons and the trade made for Green Bay Packers legendary quarterback Aaron Rodgers, on paper, it looked as though the Jets could be one of the top teams to beat in 2023 and 2024.

However, Rodgers went down in Week 1 with a season-ending injury in 2023, and the Jets again missed the playoffs. This past season, Rodgers was fully healthy and managed to play the entire season, but delivered underwhelming performances, resulting in the Jets again missing the playoffs after winning only five games.

With a new head coach and having moved on from the Rodgers experiment, the opportunity to steal a generational player like Carter with a seventh overall selection could be what the organization needs to get a spark lit underneath them to kick off their 2025 run.