NFL Draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah believes the Tennessee Titans will go defense with the No. 1 pick in this spring’s draft.

In his first mock draft for NFL.com, Jeremiah projected the Titans to take former Penn State star defensive end Abdul Carter.

Jeremiah thinks the world of Carter, calling him the best player in the draft. Jeremiah wrote this of Carter in his first mock draft:

My ears perked up when Titans president of football operations Chad Brinker said the team wouldn’t pass on a generational talent with the first pick. To me, Carter is the best player in the draft, and he plays a premium position. I could see Tennessee looking to add competition for QB Will Levis in the free agent market or later on in the draft.

Carter put up a monster season in State College to finish off his collegiate career, helping the Nittany Lions get to the College Football Playoff semifinals. The 6-foot-3, 259-pounder from Philadelphia piled up 68 tackles, 43 of them solo, to go with 12 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Carter also showed his resilience in the Playoff, playing through a left arm injury in the semifinal loss to Notre Dame.

Penn State has not had a player drafted in the top 5 of the NFL Draft since Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley went No. 2 overall to the New York Giants in 2018. Carter has frequently been compared to former Penn State star Micah Parsons, who went 12th overall in 2021 and is a 3-time All-Pro selection.