It sounds like Penn State pass rush star Abdul Carter feels confident enough in where he’ll be selected next month that he’s not planning on wasting much of his time in the coming weeks.
With 30 visits being something that many players in this upcoming draft are doing, Carter apparently plans on only doing a handful for one reason.
He expects to be gone somewhere in the top four selections, so he’s not going to spend any time visiting teams who he likely has little chance of playing for.
According to the MMQB’s Albert Breer, the Patriots are already among teams Carter has scheduled a visit with, having already visited with both the Titans (who pick first overall) and Cleveland (who pick second overall), with Carter having spent Friday with the Giants (who pick 3rd).
That means a visit to New England is upcoming, with the Patriots getting a chance to take a look at a player who would certainly be quite a force opposite Keion White on their defense.
The Penn State standout has been someone who several analysts have mocked to the Patriots, but the Browns seem to still be pondering their options at quarterback.
Kirk Cousins was spotted in Cleveland recently, although that was downplayed in the media and his situation in Atlanta still appears uncertain.
Other names have also possibly been considered given the tumultuous situation with Deshaun Watson, but it’s unknown what their plan is. They added Kenny Pickett, but having him emerge there feels unlikely.
The Giants, who just added Russell Wilson, may also be looking to add an impact player like Carter.
Although, the Giants could easily do what the Falcons did and go ahead and take a young quarterback to learn behind Wilson, as they’re still in need of a long-term solution given that Wilson has certainly appeared closer to the end of his career given his play recently.
But the shift in needs might cause Carter to be gone by the time New England is on the clock at #4, and it remains to be seen whether or not the Patriots would even go that route.
Still, the 33rd Team’s Ian Valentino released his latest Mock Draft on Friday and he has both Tennessee and Cleveland targeting quarterbacks.
He has Cameron Ward going to Tennessee, while he then predicted Shedeur Sanders being selected by the Browns. That then saw Travis Hunter end up in New York, with Valentino then predicting New England taking Carter at #4 overall.
It’s going to be interesting to see what they do.
The rumors seem to be that the Patriots have been impressed enough with Hunter that if he’s available, that could be the way they go.
But for now, they’ll do their due diligence on a player who expects to be selected by someone at the top of the board. The only question will simply be, who will pull the trigger on him.