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 suffered a fractured rib. And Carter has been characterized as more individualistic than team-oriented in his on-field football approach by some scouts, needing more discipline to stay in structure rather than always pursuing a big play, for example.
Then again, he played through a bad shoulder during the College Football Playoff rather than protecting his body against further damage for the draft at the expense of his team. And the determination to make game-changing splash plays would be welcome, frankly, in New York.
Micah Parsons, Carter’s Penn State predecessor, was a talented player and vibrant personality with a checkered off-field scouting report who basically fell off the Giants’ board in 2021 when they traded back and allowed the Dallas Cowboys to pick him.
Now the Giants have to decide whether Carter has an edge that creates an advantage for their team or if they’re intimidated by the potential for him to cross the line.
On the football field, at least, rabid relentlessness in pursuit of the ball-carrier is arguably a prerequisite for an elite pass rusher. And edge is a position where NFL teams are never in the business of passing on top-end talent for good reason: they change games.
The Giants know this well from their history. So it’s hard to imagine them passing on Carter if he’s available at No. 3, assuming they believe there isn’t more to his shoulder and foot injuries than meets the eye.
Only the Giants will know that once they complete their evaluation on Carter approaching the first round of the NFL Draft on April 24.
