New York Giants make Abdul Carter the NFL's No. 3 overall pick in 2025

Carter was a two-time Pennsylvania all-state selection before starring at Penn State

Penn State Nittany Lions defensive end Abdul Carter. / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

From Micah Parsons to NaVorro Bowman to LaVar Arrington, Penn State has often reserved its No. 11 jersey for the program’s top defensive player. 

And no Big Ten defender created more chaos over the last three seasons than Abdul Carter. Now, Carter will get the chance to do the same damage on the NFL stage after being selected No. 3 overall in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the New York Giants.

The 6-foot-3, 250-pound Carter, an outside linebacker turned defensive end, was awarded the famed No. 11 shirt prior to his true freshman season.

The in-state product from North Philadelphia’s La Salle College High School dominated from his first college game and is considered a lock to be selected in the top five of the 2025 NFL Draft. 

“I feel like I’m just getting started,” Carter said after Penn State’s Pro Day in March. “This was my first year playing a new position, and I feel like I was the best at it. I dominated at it. I feel like the sky’s the limit.”

A Philadelphia native, Carter slid into La Salle’s starting lineup as a freshman at outside linebacker. He helped lead the Explorers to the Philadelphia Catholic League title as a senior and was a two-time all-state selection. 

Carter finished his senior season at La Salle with 78 total tackles (10 for loss). 

Rated a four-star recruit and the No. 9 overall prospect in Pennsylvania for the Class of 2022, Carter chose the Nittany Lions over offers from LSU, Michigan, USC and numerous others. 

Carter received second-team all-Big Ten honors as a true freshman and was a first-team selection in 2023 at outside linebacker.

After transitioning to defensive end prior to his junior season, Carter led the country in tackles for loss (23.5) and compiled 12 sacks last year.

Carter was voted Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and became the 15th consensus All-American in Penn State history. 

“You can put Abdul at safety, you can put him at corner, or you can put him at defensive end. He’s going to make a play,” fellow Nittany Lions linebacker Dominic DeLuca recently told ESPN. “He’s just a freak athlete. Just the way he moves is insane. He’s going to find the ball one way or the other.”

Carter suffered a shoulder injury during Penn State’s College Football Playoff quarterfinal victory over Boise State that sidelined him for the Orange Bowl. The Nittany Lions fell to Notre Dame, 27-24. 

Despite the shoulder injury and a stress fracture in his right foot, Carter’s draft stock remains sky-high. ESPN’s Mel Kiper has Carter listed as the No. 2 overall player on his big board. 

“Carter has the urgency and athletic talent to bombard the stat sheet,” NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein wrote in his evaluation of Carter. “He’s always first-out and first-into contact after the snap but can dart into gaps or around blocks as a penetrator. He’s willing to scrap at the point of attack; additional time in the weight room might be in order for his move up in class. Carter rushes with a rabid, all-game intensity that’s hard for opponents to match.”

Neither injury is expected to affect Carter’s rookie season as he looks to become the next great Penn State defensive player in the NFL. 

Carter is projected to be Penn State’s first top-five NFL draft pick since Saquon Barkley, who went No. 2 overall to the New York Giants in 2018. 

More from High School On SI:

feed

— 

-- Bob Lundeberg | @sblivesports