In December, after he didn't win the Nagurski Award as college football's top defensive player, Penn State's Abdul Carter did pushups to exhaustion in his hotel room. That moment of rejection ("I got snubbed," he would say later) refueled the Big Ten defensive player of the year, who has spent the past year walking his talk.
"I feel like I’m the best player in the country," Carter said before the NFL Draft, "and the best player should be selected No. 1."
He was close. The New York Giants selected Carter with the third overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, making him Penn State's highest-drafted defensive player since Courtney Brown and LaVar Arrington went 1-2 in 2000.
Carter continues Penn State's recent stretch of high-end defensive line talent, following Micah Parsons, Odafe Oweh, Arnold Ebikete and Chop Robinson since 2021. Could Carter be the best of the group? Here's what the Giants are getting in Abdul Carter.
What makes Abdul Carter the No. 3 pick
Before the 2024 season, Carter said he made a financial decision in switching from to defensive end from linebacker, where he was a two-time All-Big Ten pick. The decision helped Penn State's finances, too, as Carter led the nation in tackles for loss (23.5), propelling the team to the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Carter might be the most explosive defensive end James Franklin has coached at Penn State. He not only gets into backfields but also possesses closing speed in the open field. Franklin was astonished at this play Carter made against Purdue last season.
"For us, we try to spend a lot of time talking about real football people, studying the tape, NFL scouts, GMs, other college coaches," Franklin said. "When you watch the tape, the guy is impactful."
NFL scouts and analysts have spent the past three months floored by his tape. ESPN ranked Carter as the draft's best available player overall. The Athletic's Dane Brugler wrote in his NFL Draft Guide that Carter's "production matches his traits." NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger called Carter "an impactful player, and you have to gameplan for him."
"If you don’t gameplan for him, you’re in trouble," Baldinger said at Penn State's Pro Day in March.
Sports Info Solutions, the data and scouting site, graded Carter as a 99 in its total points rating, the hihghest possible grade. According to the SIS scouting report, Carter "plays with supreme confidence and finishes every snap with force."
Carter also plays through most anything. He sustained a more-serious-than-expected shoulder injury in the Fiesta Bowl, which essentially made him one-armed for the ensuing Orange Bowl. Carter still made 2 tackles for loss in the game and was among Penn State's most impactful players on the field.
Abdul Carter's potential weaknesses
In his draft guide, Brugler cited traits related to his inexperience at defensive end: "predictable" moves and limited pressure angles. Carter will need to expand his pass-rush repertoire in the NFL. But he's a quick learner. Carter committed five offside penalties in Penn State's first five games of 2024. He wasn't flagged for one thereafter.
Carter also might get questions about his size (6-3, 250 pounds) in the power-rush game. Then there's the foot injury, diagnosed at the NFL Scouting Combine, that kept him from running 40s in Indianapolis or at Penn State's Pro Day. Agent Drew Rosenhaus has spent the past six weeks saying that the injury isn't serious.
Ultimately, as Sports Info Solutions noted, Carter is a "raw player that is still improving." That's who the Giants drafted. He's worth the gamble.
Abdul Carter in his own words
On not being a Heisman candidate: "I feel I'm the best player in general. You know, we get categorized as defensive players, but we impact the game as much as offensive players. And it doesn't have to be [the best] defensive player, it's the best player overall. But I just use it all as motivation."
On where his confidence comes from: "I would say the work I put in my whole life. My dad, he trained me to be the best player I can be, and not just being the best on the field but off the field. Knowing all the work I put in, all the training I did, all the sacrifices I made, I know I'm the best."
On switching from linebacker to defensive end: "I just knew that my best ability was getting after the quarterback. I knew I'd be most impactful for the team, and it would really be impactful for me, knowing what I do best is getting after the quarterback."
On when he plays best: "Most importantly, I step up when I’m needed the most. When crunch time comes around and they need someone to make that big play, I feel like I’m the guy that makes that big play. At the end of the day I make plays. Or I draw double-teams and free up somebody else so they can make a play."
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