A dream realized, Abdul Carter looks to chase greatness with the Giants: ‘I’m all New York’
Carter might have grown up an Eagles fan, but he'll leave that behind after being drafted by the rival Giants.
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Last summer, standing in the end zone of Aztec Field at Hunting Park, home of the North Philly Aztecs, Abdul Carter had one big goal in mind ahead of the 2024 season.
“I’m just trying to work [to] be the best and be the No. 1 overall pick,” he said ahead of hosting a camp for children through his “INCRDBL foundation” last July.
He didn’t quite do that on Thursday night, but Carter was selected No. 3 overall by the New York Giants in the 2025 NFL draft. It’s been a long journey from his early playing days at Hunting Park in North Philadelphia, but Carter is officially an NFL player.
» READ MORE: North Philly’s Abdul Carter is drafted No. 3 overall by the New York Giants
“My parents wanted me to go to New York. Obviously, it’s close to home, about an hour and a half away from Philly,” Carter said in his podium session in Green Bay. “Just really blessed. Excited to be here. I can’t wait to get started.”
Donning his “INCRDBL” chain, the nickname his father, Chris, gave him back in 2011, Carter sported the Giants hat. He’s set to face off against his hometown Eagles, whom he grew up a fan of, twice a year. When asked about what it would mean to face the Eagles in the same division, Carter replied: “Philly [is] going to have to be left behind. I’m all New York. Go Big Blue.”
Carter became a star for La Salle College High School playing off-ball linebacker, and chose Penn State to play his college ball. After two years at linebacker, Carter moved to edge rusher for the 2024 season, catapulting to one of college football’s best players. He was a consensus All-American and was named the Big Ten defensive player of the year, among numerous other accolades, after making 68 tackles (24 for losses) with 12 sacks and two forced fumbles.
It was a family affair for Carter on the draft’s red carpet and in the green room. He was joined by his father, Chris, and mother, Tina, on the runway, all in coordinated, all-black attire. Chris Carter, who spent the first 10 years of Abdul’s life in prison, sported an Adidas chain, an homage to his son’s signing on with the athletic gear company on Wednesday.
Before heading to the green room, Chris Carter said Thursday was “mission accomplished,” on the cusp of hearing Abdul’s name called by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
“For him, it’s him accomplishing part of his dream. It’s one of the best days of our lives until [Abdul] helps a team win a Super Bowl championship,” Chris Carter said. “I’m just happy to end this part of the process and get him to a team so we can start getting ready for NFL football.”
In the lead-up to the draft, Carter has been posting hints on his social media pages that the Giants were his likely destination. Carter posted a photo of Lawrence Taylor in the Giants’ facility on April 11, then quote-tweeted a video from Penn State football’s account with “#56,” on April 17, an homage to Taylor as well. Carter was complimentary of Taylor after being drafted by New York.
“LT is the greatest football player of all time. I want to chase greatness,” Carter said. “Following his footsteps. [I] look up to him, seeing the impact he made, how dominant he was, somebody I aspire to be like for sure.”
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When asked if he would also wear the retired No. 56 like Taylor did, Carter wouldn’t disclose his decision just yet, but “has a number in mind.”
Back in New York during their news conference, Giants general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll said they had been eyeing Carter since last fall. Daboll told reporters that he visited his daughter, a Penn State student, for family weekend last fall, and that during that visit he met with Carter for a breakfast, and called him a “great kid, and he’s an exceptional player.”
Schoen said he watched Carter twice in person, when Penn State faced Ohio State in late October, and when the Nittany Lions played Notre Dame in a College Football Playoff semifinal.
“Abdul was one of those guys that, as a true freshman, jumped off the field,” Schoen told reporters. “He’s playing off the ball, he’s moving at a different speed than everybody else. … He was on our radar from early on in August, like, ‘We got to go see Penn State, we have to go see this guy play.’
“He is such a special talent, and we’re fortunate to be able to land him.”
At Penn State, Carter was coached by Deion Barnes, another North Philly native who grew up two blocks down on the same street from the star pass rusher. “I’m really thankful for Penn State,” Carter said.
He will join a talented defensive line that features Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Dexter Lawrence, among others, and he’s excited to learn from the veteran-laden room that could become a formidable force in the NFC East.
“I just want to start by getting [to] know these guys,” Carter said. “Obviously, [the Giants] got a lot of great guys on the D-line, great guys in the back end. Just get to know them as teammates, as men, and once I do that, hit the field running and just cause havoc.”
Even though Carter will be a couple of hours away from the community he grew up in, it won’t stop his INCRDBL foundation from impacting the North Philly community, and now the communities in New York. The foundation was created with the help of his father, Chris, who nicknamed Abdul “Incredible” because “the young man did everything I asked him to do at a high level.”
From North Philly, to Happy Valley, and now the Big Apple, Abdul Carter can be an example for other kids in his community. And his father, Chris, wants his son’s story to serve as one of testimony and hope.
“I hope that it inspires other young men from North Philly that they can get out of their situation and make it better with hard work,” Chris Carter said. “That’s all me and my son did was work hard to get him here to this point.”