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2025 NFL Draft: Scouting edge defenders using PFF+
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2YW65NC INDIANAPOLIS, IN – DECEMBER 07: Penn State Nittany Lions DE Abdul Carter (11) rushes the quarterback during the Big Ten Championship football game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Oregon Ducks on December 7, 2024 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)
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- Penn State’s Abdul Carter is a pass-rushing menace: PFF’s top edge prospect in the draft class and the No. 2 overall prospect on PFF’s big board, Carter has shown he can play inside linebacker and outside linebacker, rushing the passer effectively from either.
- Josaiah Stewart is an underrated prospect: The Michigan edge defender is the No. 78 prospect on PFF’s big board and leads the class in both PFF pass-rush grade against true pass sets (93.7) and pass-rush win rate against true pass sets (41.2%).
- 2025 NFL Draft season is here: Try PFF’s best-in-class Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2025’s top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.
Estimated Reading Time: 14 minutes
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PFF+ subscribers instantly have the work of the largest scouting department in history (in the form of the PFF data collection team) at their fingertips — much of the same information used by all 32 NFL front offices. And we’ll use that data here to scout edge defenders for the 2025 NFL Draft.
Edge defender prospects enter an NFL world with a different class of offensive tackles in terms of size, length and ability. There is a learning/production curve for edge defenders in the NFL, and just because a player doesn’t produce as a rookie doesn’t mean they can’t excel in their second or third years. For this article, we are focusing only on productive rookies.