NFL superstar’s trade request makes Abdul Carter top priority in the 2025 NFL Draft

Inevitably, the NFL Draft always becomes about the quarterbacks. However, Penn State superstar defensive end Abdul Carter has been routinely mocked near the top of the 2025 NFL Draft, at times even ahead of Miami quarterback Cam Ward and Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. That may begin to happen even more after shocking news in the league on Monday made Carter an even bigger priority for the team that currently holds the No. 2 overall selection.

After a 3-14 season, the NFL’s reigning defensive player of the year and former No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft, Myles Garrett, officially requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns. The 29-year-old is arguably the best edge rusher in the league and even with him on the roster, the Browns were regularly tied to Carter in early mock drafts, now that pressure will ramp up even further.

The Browns have serious questions at quarterback, as most teams that end up at the top of the NFL draft, but they’re in a uniquely disastrous spot. Deshaun Watson was arguably the worst quarterback in the NFL before he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. Then, during his rehab, Watson re-tore the Achilles and delayed his eventual return. He’s likely to miss the 2025 season but is scheduled to hit the salary cap for $72 million of his fully guaranteed contract, which runs through 2026.

With such an albatross on the books, Cleveland would struggle to build a competitive team around a young quarterback, either Ward or Sanders, so it could be better served to take Carter, arguably the best player in the draft, or two-way superstar Travis Hunter, and punt a quarterback decision down the road.

Carter would be the ideal Garrett replacement, and the Browns would recoup at least one additional first-rounder for moving off the face of their franchise. However, the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year may not even make it to No. 2. If the Tennessee Titans, which hold the No. 1 overall selection don’t fall in love with Ward or Sanders, first-year general manager Mike Borgonzi could take the easy way out with Carter, a new sure-fire superstar off the edge.

When Penn State’s season ended in the Orange Bowl, a game Carter played essentially with one arm after suffering a shoulder injury in the previous round of the College Football Playoff and still racked up eight quarterback pressures, he was unlikely to fall beyond the top five, but with the news of Garrett’s trade request, it would be a surprise to see Carter still on the board when the New York Giants are on the clock with the third pick.