5 Penn State football players with NFL decision after Nittany Lions CFP run

On By Littum

With Penn State’s run to the semifinals of the 12-team College Football Playoff, the Nittany Lions have an extended window to make their transfer decisions and crucially declare for the NFL draft. Penn State already lost one of its key future pieces to the portal when backup QB Beau Pribula left the team and landed at Missouri, and others could follow him after the 2024 season ends, but the bigger questions on this list are about which draft – eligible players will be heading to the league this spring.

Junior safety Kevin Winston Jr., who missed most of the season with a knee injury, has already declared for the 2025 draft, and seniors such as Mackey Award winner Tyler Warren and star safety Jaylen Reed will be ineligible, but these five players will face the toughest draft decision this offseason.

Abdul Carter has yet to declare for the 2025 NFL Draft, but he sure will after Penn State’s season ends. Even with a mysterious arm injury suffered in the Fiesta Bowl win over Boise State that has his status for the Orange Bowl against Notre Dame up in the air, he’ll be a top-10 pick.

The former linebacker immediately developed into a star defensive end after an offseason position switch, finishing the year with 21.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks. He will be a transformative pass rusher for any defense in the NFL, just like the recent Nittany Lions who wear the No. 11, Micah Parsons.

Just hours after Pribula announced he was leaving Happy Valley for the transfer portal, it was reported that junior quarterback Drew Allar intends to return to Penn State for his final year of eligibility. However, there have been two games since that announcement, each more exciting for NFL evaluators. Allar has the tools to be a first-round NFL draft pick, and in a weak 2025 quarterback class, he could be the best option.

If Allar continues to play well in the College Football Playoff or even leads the Nittany Lions to a national championship, he could change his mind and head to the league this spring.

Nicholas Singleton has been on NFL radars since he burst onto the scene with a 1,000-yard season as a true freshman in 2022. However, there are now rumors that Singleton, and both the Lawn Boyz for that matter, plan to take back to Happy Dal next year.

With Singleton’s remarkable production at such a young age, he would be a perfect running back to rise up draft boards. He has a long way to go before he ages out of effectiveness and would enter the league with plenty of tread left on the tires, considering he shares time with Kaytron Allen. Even with the rumored return, I’d be surprised to see Singleton in blue and white in 2025.

The story is a little different for Kaytron Allen, who seems more likely to stay at Penn State next season. Allen has pretty much been the RB2 to Singleton throughout his career, meaning he enters the league with less risk of breaking out, but also with a lower draft profile. Allen would be selected in the 2025 NFL draft if he enters, but likely not until Day 3, and by then his NIL payday to stay at Penn State could be comparable.

Carter steals all the headlines along Penn State’s defensive line, but Durant has been a monster on the interior at just 6-foot-1 and 288 pounds. Durant will be undersized for the NFL, but his production of 27 QB pressures and four sacks in 2024 will have scouts taking notice. Durant looks set to bounce back, but a dominant performance in either the Orange Bowl or a potential national championship matchup with Texas or Ohio State could change his mind.