With Penn State and Notre Dame facing off in the College Football Playoff Semifinal, let’s use Pro Football Network’s Mock Draft Simulator to identify the top NFL Draft prospects in the Orange Bowl.
Penn State Nittany Lions’ Top NFL Draft Prospects
The following Penn State players have a top 100 ADP in the Mock Draft Simulator. Let’s examine each player’s average ADP, how their ADP has changed throughout the season, and which teams are selecting them most often in our user’s mock drafts.
EDGE Abdul Carter
Current ADP: 5.7
Users controlling the Carolina Panthers are selecting him with 28.9% of picks in the first round. The next highest percentage of selections for Carter in the first round are 13% of New England Patriots’ users and 9.5 of Tennessee Titans’ users.
There’s an obvious surface-level parallel between Carter and former Penn State star Micah Parsons, who’s become an All-Pro rush linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys. Like Carter, Parsons was an LB-turned-EDGE, and he ran a 4.39 40-yard dash at 6’3″ and almost 250 pounds.
TE Tyler Warren
Current ADP: 23.0
Users controlling the Indianapolis Colts are selecting him with 24.8% of picks in the first round. The next highest percentage of selections for Warren in the first round are 20.8% of Los Angeles Chargers’ users and 16.4% of Denver Broncos’ users.
The New York Giants selected Penn State TE Theo Johnson in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He was highly regarded, but there were more than a few evaluators who viewed Tyler Warren as the better prospect before he returned to school.
Warren might not be quite as explosive as Johnson on the linear plane, but his route tree is more expansive, his hand technique is more consistent, and he makes his presence felt as a blocker, both in-line and out in the slot. His utility is extremely appealing at the position.
QB Drew Allar
Current ADP: 47.5
Users controlling the New York Jets are selecting him with 3% of their draft picks with an average ADP of 44.4. The next highest percentage of selections for Allar are 2.0% of Cleveland Browns’ users. Note: Allar’s data is older, as he has been removed from the MDS since stating he would return to Penn State. However, we have included him in this second because of the rumors he may yet declare.
S Kevin Winston Jr.
Current ADP: 65.3
Users controlling the Kansas City Chiefs are selecting Winston with 2% of their draft picks. The next highest percentage of selections for Winston Jr. are 1.4% of Buffalo Bills’ users.
EDGE Dani Dennis-Sutton
Current ADP: 76.3
Users controlling the Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions, and Cincinnati Bengals all are selecting him with 1.1% of their draft picks. The next highest percentage of selections for Dennis-Sutton are 1% of Washington Commanders’ users.
RB Nicholas Singleton
Current ADP: 80.9
Users controlling the Broncos and Dallas Cowboys are selecting him with 2% of their draft picks. The next highest percentage of selections for Singleton are 0.9% of Pittsburgh Steelers, Minnesota Vikings, and Las Vegas Raiders’ users.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish’s Top NFL Draft Prospects
The following Notre Dame players have a top 100 ADP in the Mock Draft Simulator. Let’s examine each player’s average ADP, how their ADP has changed throughout the season, and which teams are selecting them most often in our user’s mock drafts.
CB Benjamin Morrison
Current ADP: 30.2
Users controlling the Green Bay Packers are selecting him with 17.0% of picks in the first round. The next highest percentage of selections for Morrison in the first round are 15.1% of Bills’ users and 9.8% of Los Angeles Rams’ users.
S Xavier Watts
Current ADP: 53.3
Users controlling the Colts are selecting him with 2.9% of their draft picks. The next highest percentage of selections for Watts are 1.6% of Miami Dolphins’ users and 1.5% of Atlanta Falcons’ users.
TE Mitchell Evans
Current ADP: 97.0
Users controlling the Jets are selecting him with 1% of their draft picks. The next highest percentage of selections for Evans are 0.9% of Eagles’ users.
At 6’5″, 260 pounds, size and play strength are obvious play strengths of Evans’, and he brings great power and physicality as a run blocker as well. His experience as a TE2 behind Mayer helped refine his blocking skills, and in 2023, his nuance as a receiver came to light.
Though Evans isn’t as dynamic an athlete as Mayer was, he’s fluid enough to separate independently on digs and out routes, and he can work up the seam well enough with his baseline explosiveness and box-out ability.
Where Evans truly makes his money as a receiver, however, is with his hands and catching instincts. Evans has truly elite hands — as evidenced by his incredibly low drop rate — and he can not only make tough catches amidst contact, but also contort at rapid response times.
For more NFL Draft analysis, check out PFN’s latest seven-round mock draft.