Joel Klatt believes Abdul Carter can have a 'Micah Parsons-like impact'

The NFL Draft is set to open on Thursday night and one of the first names expected to be called is Abdul Carter. An edge rusher who played for the Penn State Nittany Lions, Carter is widely seen as one of the best players in this year’s NFL Draft and will be expected to have an early impact in the NFL.

One person who is incredibly high on Abdul Carter is Joel Klatt. A college football analyst, Klatt looked to another former Nittany Lion and current NFL star Micah Parsons. He’s someone who, as Klatt explained on The Joel Klatt Show, Carter could have a similar impact to in the NFL.

“This is how much I love Abdul Carter,” Joel Klatt said. “I believe he can have a Micah Parsons-like impact in the NFL. I think it’s there and what you [Daniel Jeremiah] said just like quickly at the top. He hasn’t even scratched the surface on the edge. That’s why.”

Abdul Carter played for Penn State from 2022 through the 2024 season. Initially, he had been a linebacker for the Nittany Lions but was moved to an edge rusher role to better fit his skillset. There, he exploded as one of the best players in all of college football. That included 24 tackles for a loss and 12 sacks in 2024.

Similarly, Micah Parsons is someone who has dominated as an edge rusher. However, in college, he had been more of a traditional linebacker. In all four of his NFL seasons now, Parsons has managed double digit sacks. That’s even with being held to 13 games this past season.

“He’s done all of this and can dominate,” Klatt said. “And hasn’t even scratched the surface on the edge. Once we see that, he’s going to be a dynamic player.”

For his part, Abdul Carter has been limited in the pre-draft process due to an injury he suffered during the season, and hampered him in the College Football Playoff. At the end of March, Cleveland Browns GM Andrew Berry shared his thoughts on that injury, saying it is “not going to be prohibitive to a long, successful career.”

In the latest mock draft from NFL Draft analyst Field Yates, he is projecting the New York Giants select Abdul Carter with the third overall pick. If that comes true, it would make him division rivals with Micah Parsons, a player who he has consistently drawn comparisons like the one Klatt gave him after his career took off at Penn State.