Penn State 2025 NFL Draft predictions: How many Lions will go, and where will they end up?

Penn State will be represented in Green Bay on Thursday at the 2025 NFL Draft. Abdul Carter, who is the only former Nittany Lion set to be on hand (Tyler Warren is watching at home with his family), is one of the Lions who will be picked. Warren is another, of course. Both are shoo-ins to go in the first round. Both might even go in the top 10. After that, the question is a simple one: How many teammates will join them in hearing their names called during the three-day, seven-round, 257-pick pro selection process?

It’s time for our annual exercise in futility: Predicting how many former Penn State players will go, and when, between Thursday and Saturday. This won’t be a historic Draft for the Lions from a numbers perspective. But, a major program feat could still be accomplished.

Where will Abdul Carter and Tyler Warren go?

Penn State has not had two top 10 picks since 2000. Will this pair of All-Americans become the first since LaVar Arrington and Courtney Brown? As is usually the case, it all depends on how chaotic things get with trades once the first team is on the clock. We feel good in saying that Carter is going to the New York Giants at No. 3. That seems pretty safe. But, predicting where Warren goes is not as easy. The folks at NFL Mock Draft Database round up predictions from around the Internet. Those fail to reach a consensus on where the tight end will go. Projections range from as high as the New York Jets at No. 7 to as low as the Indianapolis Colts at No. 14. From an averaging-out perspective, he would go at No. 10 to Chicago, which all assumes there will be no movement, of course, in the current draft order.

In the end, I’ll say the chalk holds and that Warren ends up in the Big Apple, too. Carter goes to the G-Man at No. 3 and Warren to the Jets at No. 7.

Which Penn State players will go on Day 2?

In past years, Day 2 of the NFL Draft, which consists of Rounds 2 and 3, has been a busy one for Penn State in the James Franklin era. It will not be this year. In an absolute best-case scenario, the Lions’ pair of departed safeties, KJ Winston and Jaylen Reed, could both go off the board on Friday. In all likelihood, though, only the former will. Winston is generating second-round buzz despite missing almost all of the 2024 season due to injury and only running at Pro Day. ESPN’s Mel Kiper was the first to send him to the Philadelphia Eagles at the end of Round 2. Others are now joining him in doing so. Which all but ensures that won’t happen.

All told, I could see Winston sliding into Round 3. But, a lot of teams need safety help, and so someone may either snap him up sooner than expected or trade up to get him. That makes projecting where he goes difficult. But, let’s take a stab at this: The Buffalo Bills take him with pick No. 62, which is just at the end of Round 2.

Which Nittany Lions will go on Day 3?

Penn State fans attending the Blue-White game or following along with it inside The Lions Den can expect Draft updates on Saturday. Linebacker Kobe King and Reed will both go then. The latter has felt disrespected by college award voters and draft analysts alike. NFL teams will either validate his beliefs or back up those who did not grade him as highly as he thinks he should be. Most put a Round 5 grade on him. I think he’ll move into Round 4 and go to the Miami Dolphins at No. 116.

As for King, many experts think he could go in the fifth round to the Philadelphia Eagles. If you’ve not noticed yet, I am always against the consensus after the first round when it comes to predictions. But, the fifth round does make sense, and I’ll go with the Chicago Bears with pick No. 148.

What’s the final verdict?

Earlier this week, I wrote that Jalen Kimber would join the five aforementioned Penn State players in being drafted. But, I’m backing off that stance. There’s no rhyme or reason to it. I just am. So, the Lions end up with five players picked in the 2025 NFL Draft. The two top 10 selections make history. However, thanks to the large number of seniors on the Penn State roster this fall, it’s the program’s smallest Draft class since five players were selected in 2020.