Giants general manager Joe Schoen continues to hint at what he will do with the No. 3 overall pick at the 2025 NFL Draft on April 24 at historic Lambeau Field, and it is not a quarterback.
Since Big Blue signed Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston last month, the prospects of Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter making his way to East Rutherford continue to increase, and it feels like a given.
Schoen further cemented that notion on Thursday.
“Everybody watched the Super Bowl, right?” he asked. “[The Philadelphia Eagles] rushed with how many? Four the whole game? That’s one way to do it. If you think about any of these players that may or may not be in the mix, as a unique player like [Carter] that played off the ball for two years and has only played one season off the edge, and had a really good season.”
The Giants have two solid edge-rushing options already in Kayvon Thibodeaux, who regressed with 5.5 sacks in 2024 after posting 11.5 in 2023, and Brian Burns, who would line up behind either edge as an outside linebacker.
Adding Carter would create quite an imposing unit, especially considering that the Giants have one of the best interior defensive linemen in the NFL in Dexter Lawrence.
“You’ve got Kayvon, and you’ve got Burns, you’ve got Dex inside,” Schoen said. “It gives you a lot of options. [Carter] is a versatile player. He’s young, just 21 years old, and an exciting player to watch. Yeah, you can’t have enough pass rushers.”
In 16 games with the Nittany Lions last season, Carter led the nation with 24 tackles for loss, along with 12 sacks and 68 combined tackles in 16 games. He was the 2024 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
Taking him at No. 3 would mean the Giants would have to wait to draft a younger passing prospect. Shedeur Sanders is a likely top-10 pick, and he had a private workout with Big Blue on Thursday. Still, Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll have brought in a number of quarterbacks that will be available later in the draft, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart, Syracuse’s Kyle McCord, and Louisville’s Tyler Shough.
