"The New York Giants avoided the allure of taking Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders," B/R's Brent Sobleski wrote in his immediate reaction on draft night. "Instead, they selected Abdul Carter, the one player who had an argument as the class’ best player over Travis Hunter, whom the Jacksonville Jaguars selected one pick earlier.

The Giants had an NFL-low $1.6 million in salary cap space as a team as of Thursday morning, however, to fit Carter’s $8.2 million cap hit for his first season.

After drafting Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter with the No. 3 overall pick at the 2025 NFL Draft, head coach Brian Daboll can add him to defensive coordinator Shane Bowen's impressive pass-rushing lineup featuring Dexter Lawrence II, Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux.