New York Giants select Penn State's Abdul Carter with No. 3 overall pick

Abdul Carter was asked for his best pass rush move during the NFL combine.

“I would say my ‘ghost rush,’” Carter said.

Not unlike a ghost, it didn’t take long for Carter to disappear off draft boards Thursday night.

Penn State’s star defender, Carter was taken with the third overall pick of the draft by the New York Giants.

“I’m all New York. New York is getting everything from me. All that passion I have, all the love that I have, all the excitement,” he said Thursday on ESPN’s draft broadcast when asked about growing up in Philadelphia as a fan of the rival Eagles. “On third down when it gets loud, I’m going to make that big pass rush and make that big, explosive play.”

Carter joins a Giants defensive line that also includes Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux.

“We’re gonna wreak havoc,” he told reporters on a conference call.

“The motor he plays with, the toughness and violence, that can help develop an identity,” Giants general manager Joe Schoen told New York media.

A converted inside linebacker who broke out as an edge rusher as a junior this past season, Carter follows in the similar footsteps of former Nittany Lions star Micah Parsons.

Parsons played middle linebacker during his two college seasons (he opted out of his junior season during the pandemic) but became an NFL superstar after being drafted 12th overall by the Dallas Cowboys four years ago.

Carter and Parsons even wore the same blue-and-white uniform number, 11 — not a coincidence, as Penn State has made it a tradition in recent decades to hand out that digit only to its most prized defensive players.

“I definitely tried to model my game after Micah, just watching him being at the same school,” Carter said at the NFL combine in the lead-up to the draft. “I’ve been watching him pretty much my whole career.

Carter listed — in order — Parsons, Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns and the Steelers’ T.J. Watt as his top three edge rushers in the NFL today. It’s a group many scouts believe Carter could soon join.

Not lacking at all in confidence, Carter is likewise convinced he will be among the elite defensive players in the league.

Where does that belief come from?

“I would say the work I put in my whole life,” Carter said. “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.”

For a time earlier this spring, it seemed as if Carter might come out of the draft as the “best” in regards to where he was taken. Thought to be in the discussion to be the No. 1 overall pick, a shoulder injury suffered during the College Football Playoff quarterfinals could have given teams some pause.

Instead, that Carter played through the injury during the Nittany Lions’ semifinal loss to Notre Dame helped display an unselfish attribute.

“I just felt like my teammates needed me,” Carter said. “I could have (sat out in preparation for the draft and avoid worsening the injury), but I felt like I had to leave it all out there and give us the best opportunity to win. And I feel like that’s what I did. And if I had to do it again, I’d make the same choice.”

In part by using the “ghost move” pass rush popularized by one of Carter’s football idols — Von Miller — Carter had 12 sacks this past season. He led the nation in tackles for loss (23 ½) and won the Big Ten’s defensive player of the year award while earning first-team AP all-America.

“He has a tremendous opportunity with the New York Giants ahead of him, and I know he’ll thrive in that organization,” Penn State defensive line coach Deion Barnes said on X. “He has great hands, quick feet and a very detail-oriented approach to the game.”

Now, Carter officially is in the NFL.

“I feel like I could bring a lot in terms of leadership,” Carter said.

“I think I bring energy, effort, versatility. I feel like when the biggest moments come around, that’s when I play at my best.”