Penn State's Abdul Carter posts Lawrence Taylor photo on Giants NFL draft visit
In the building for a Top-30 visit, Carter posted a photo of Giants legend Lawrence Taylor to X on Friday morning, which includes a quote from late owner Wellington Mara on the bottom, "Once a Giant, always a Giant."
Carter also reportedly had breakfast with Giants head coach Brian Daboll earlier this month.
Taylor, an eight-time All-Pro and the 1986 NFL MVP, spent his entire 13-year career with the Giants (1981-93), for whom he's first in team history with 142 career sacks and regarded as the best player in franchise history.
Carter, who played three seasons at Penn State after redshirting his freshman year, totaled 12 sacks, a Big Ten-high 24 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, four passes defended and 68 combined tackles last season, helping him earn Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors. He played through a shoulder injury in the College Football Playoff, and it was revealed he had a stress reaction in his foot at the NFL Scouting Combine. Regarding the latter, Carter isn't expected to have surgery, according to ESPN.
Carter would join a Giants defense that was 24th in the NFL in total yards surrendered (346.8 per game) and 21st in points surrendered (24.4 per game) last season in what was a 3-14 campaign. That said, they were tied for eighth with 45 sacks on the season.
At first glance, Carter and the Giants aren't a "perfect match," as the franchise acquired and signed outside linebacker and two-time Pro Bowler Brian Burns to a five-year, $141 million deal last offseason and selected outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux with the No. 5 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Oregon. Historically, though, New York has placed an emphasis on pass rushers, with it most recently sporting the combination of Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora in its Super Bowl XLVI season and Michael Strahan, Tuck and Umenyiora, among others, in its Super Bowl XLII season.
As for the draft, the Tennessee Titans are expected to select Miami quarterback and 2024 Heisman Trophy finalist Cam Ward with the No. 1 pick, with the Cleveland Browns at No. 2 being the team that likely decides whether Carter falls to the Giants; the Browns could select Colorado two-way superstar Travis Hunter or Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
This offseason, the Giants have signed quarterback Russell Wilson to a one-year deal, fellow quarterback Jameis Winston to a two-year deal, defensive backs Paulson Adebo and Jevon Holland to three-year deals and re-signed Darius Slayton to a three-year deal, among other moves.
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