This 2025 NFL Draft is short on consensus elite prospects, but Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter is the closest thing to it.
Carter, 21, racked up 12 sacks, 24 tackles for loss and 68 total tackles in his third and final season for the Nittany Lions.
He projects as a day one starter on the edge with the kind of motor, intensity and production that all 32 teams are always chasing at a premium position on the field.
The Giants’ proud history of four Super Bowls is headlined by elite and deep pass rushes that have terrorized opposing quarterbacks.
Whether Carter added to a rotation with Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux or portended a Thibodeaux trade out of town, he’d give coordinator Shane Bowen an exciting new weapon on a front led by Dexter Lawrence.
The possibility of Carter to the Giants is gaining steam ever since Colorado’s pro day on Friday.
Rumors are growing louder that the Cleveland Browns are leaning toward Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter at the No. 2 overall pick.
And Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders’ workout raised more questions than answers about his certainty as a franchise quarterback.
Right on cue, Giants coach Brian Daboll had breakfast with Carter on Sunday in State College, Pa., per ESPN. And Carter is now scheduled to visit the Giants on Thursday in East Rutherford, N.J.
Going defense with the No. 3 overall pick would leave lingering questions about the Giants’ offseason plan to upgrade the NFL’s No. 31 ranked offense.
They mostly attacked the defense through free agency, too, spending the bulk of their money on the secondary and defense.
Their only addition to the starting 11 on offense so far has been Russell Wilson’s signing at quarterback on top of Jameis Winston’s addition as the backup.
Carter would make an immediate impact on the defensive side, though, when he was on the field. The question is whether the Giants’ medical team believes he will be able to stay on it.
Carter sustained a shoulder injury late in the college season. And doctors found a stress reaction in Carter’s right foot at the NFL Combine in late February.
Doctors ultimately advised Carter against having surgery on his foot. And Cleveland Browns GM Andrew Berry said at the NFL owners meetings recently that Carter’s foot injury is “not going to be prohibitive to a long, successful career.”
But Carter did not work out at Penn State’s pro day after previously planning to do so.
Joe Schoen noted at the owners meetings that both Carter and Hunter at that point “haven’t even worked out yet,” which sounded like the Giants GM saying he’d like to have more on-field information before he makes his pick in late April.
And Carter’s character is also a part of the evaluation process that the Giants need to clear.
Carter was accused of assaulting a tow truck driver one year ago during an alleged incident in which the driver
Topics in this Story
