THE New York Giants’ No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft has finally chosen his number in the league after being rejected twice by two franchise icons.
On Friday, the Giants revealed the team’s rookie numbers close to two weeks after the 2025 NFL Draft.
3
3
The saga with Penn State product Abdul Carter and his jersey number is over, at least temporarily.
Carter will rock No. 51 at Rookie Camp after being the Giants’ first-round pick last month.
The decision comes after attempting to use the retired numbers of team legends Lawrence Taylor and Phil Simms.
First, Carter asked Taylor to rock his No. 56, but he was denied publicly by the Hall of Famer.
“I know he would love to wear that number, but hey, I think it’s retired,” Taylor told the New York Post.
“Get another number.
“I don’t care if it’s double zero, and then make it famous.”
Then, the 21-year-old contemplated Simms’ No. 11, but he was voted down by his family.
Carter will sport the No. 51, taking a digit from each.
However, the announcement doesn’t mean that he will wear the jersey number in the 2025 season.
The No. 51 has previously been worn with the Giants by edge rusher Azeez Ojulari, who joined the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent this offseason.
Carter donned the famed No. 11 jersey at Penn State.
He didn’t get the same jersey number fortune as 2024 first-round pick wide receiver Malik Nabers.
The Giants gave Nabers the No. 1, as it was previously retired by the late Ray Flaherty, whose son allowed the LSU product to wear the number.
There are multiple reasons why Carter was a top-three draft pick.
3
He was a unanimous All-American in 2024 thanks to his season in which he posted 12 sacks, 24 tackles for loss, and 66 pressures.
Carter will join a Giants team that finished 3-14 last year.
The pass rusher and the Giants participated in rookie minicamps for the first time on Friday.
Fellow first-round pick, quarterback Jaxson Dart, will wear No. 6.