The top of the 2025 NFL Draft got a little bit spicier at the start of the NFL Combine when it was announced that Penn State Nittany Lions EDGE Abdul Carter may need to have foot surgery. Carter is widely seen as the potential first player to be taken in this year’s annual player selection meeting.
With this news, the top of the draft just got a bit murkier in a year, in which quarterbacks are at a premium and blue-chip players are even scarcer.
What Happened to Abdul Carter?
As of right now, the injury to Carter’s foot has not been completely revealed; not how it happened nor how bad it actually is. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, it was tests during the pre-screening events of the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine that revealed the issue.
Schefter stated that these tests revealed a ‘stress reaction in his right foot’ and Carter now has to decide whether or not he will have surgery.
Representing Carter is the famed Drew Rosenhaus, who indicated that same level of uncertainty as proposed from Schefter.
“There are mixed opinions on whether he needs surgery,” Rosenhaus said to media in Indianapolis. “We will figure that out in the near future.”
Carter was already scheduled to appear for just media purposes as well as meeting with teams and the event’s pre-screening medical process, and was not scheduled to appear in any of the on-field testing drills.
Schefter continued on, detailing the options for Carter, making it clear why he was never planning on participating in on-field drills.
Option 1 was said to be a ‘pre-emptive’ surgery that would insert a screw into his right foot and keep Carter out for eight weeks.
Option 2 is said to simply have Carter bypass the surgery all together, participate in the Penn State Pro Day, and subsequently showcase to NFL teams that he didn’t need to have the surgery at all.
Both of those options came from Rosenhaus as well who indicated that he, and the Carter family, are not worried.
“We don’t expect this to impact where he is drafted,” Rosenhaus said. “I believe he’s going to be the No. 1 overall pick.”
How Will Carter’s Injury Impact His Draft Stock?
Carter’s draft stock surely took a slight hit with this news, solely because there is an issue that might require surgery. The big ‘S word’ is scary enough for some NFL teams, so you then have to turn the page and wonder, ‘is Carter good enough to bypass any concerns here?’
In this draft class, Carter is absolutely worthy of the No. 1 overall pick, even if he didn’t play a single down for the first eight weeks of the season. Given Rosenhaus’ worst-case scenario that he’d be out for eight weeks from now, eight weeks ahead of the draft itself, you’d have to think that Carter is still a surefire bet to hear his name called within the first three picks of the 2025 NFL Draft.
But there is another worst-case scenario in this realm that sees Carter bypass the surgery, participate in his pro day, and re-aggravate that injury. Then, and only then, would we be talking about him not being worthy of the No. 1 overall pick.
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But then, and then alone, would we be talking about an NFL franchise getting the steal of the draft if they selected Carter with anything outside of a top-five pick.
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