Abdul Carter was the No. 3 overall selection in the 2025 NFL Draft and went to the New York Giants. It already appears that the rookie is a player to rave about among Giants fans.
His impact is already noticeable even without practicing without pads. In OTAs and rookie minicamp, Carter popped up as the next likely, instant star New York will have. The Athletic's Dan Duggan listed the linebacker alongside names, like Odell Beckham Jr. and another former Nittany Lion Saquon Barkley.
"This spring, Carter looked exactly like the type of game-wrecking force that was expected," Duggan said.
He noted that the Giants' success will need offensive weapons to support the defensive power, but Carter's pass rush is "an unstoppable force." New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll even offered the rookie some praise, saying there's something special about Carter and that his power, strength, speed, and overall athleticism weren't overrated.
According to Charlotte Carroll, Carter was getting rotations in with Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux. While it's not 100 percent certain where he'll end up on the line, Carroll is predicting he'll likely be at inside linebacker and be a key player in creating chaos in the backfield.
Other insiders have been raving about Carter since the end of June beyond The Athletic. Art Stapleton noted that Carter may be better than people initially thought, especially at the rookie level. His talents are at a level that it takes years for some players to get to and Stapleton said that Carter was born with a pass-rushing gene, according to Heavy Sports.
Cam Skattebo, Abdul Carter, Thomas Fidone II
Former Penn State and current New York Giants linebacker Abdul Carter at Giants rookie minicamp with Cam Skattebo and Thomas Fidone II | Adam Hunger/GettyImages
ESPN's Jordan Raanan wrote that defensive coordinator Shane Bowen is looking for ways to get Carter out onto the field with Burns and Thibodeaux. Bowen said, according to Raanan, that "it's a really good problem to have" with three worthy and very capable players competing for two spots.
All three are versatile, so figuring out how to get them all on the field shouldn't be a struggle for Bowen. To utilize all of them, Burns and Carter will likely be moved around a little with Carter getting more time in a traditional linebacker spot. This will allow all three to play together and an inside linebacker spot isn't foreign to Carter either as he played at that position his first two seasons with the Nittany Lions.
In 2024-25 Penn State, Carter had 68 tackles, including 43 solo and 25 assists. Out of his 68, 23.5 were tackles for loss and he added an additional 12 sacks and four pass breakups. He transitioned to an edge rusher during this season after playing at linebacker as a freshman and sophomore.