Abdul Carter may become the biggest loser of the first few selections of Thursday's NFL draft.
Despite having a stellar career in Happy Valley, Carter's NFL team links are rather underwhelming, considering the EDGE rusher totaled 12 sacks this past season while guiding the Nittany Lions to an Orange Bowl berth before losing to Notre Dame.
According to Yahoo Sports staff writers Nate Tice and Charles McDonald, Carter is projected to be selected third overall by the New York Giants during the first night of the festivities.
"You can’t have too many pass rushers, especially when you have the opportunity to add one as talented as Carter," the assessment read. "He can bend and fire off the football and will instantly play impactful snaps as a pass rusher as he adds strength and hones other aspects of his game. He could unlock some devastating pass rush fronts on passing downs with Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Dexter Lawrence and Carter pinning their ears back and getting after the QB."
The Giants finished 3-14 this past season and were soundly beaten in almost every loss. These included games against the AFC's Baltimore Ravens (35-14), NFC's Tampa Bay Buccaneers (30-7), NFC's Atlanta Falcons (34-7) and so forth.
The common denominator is defensive inefficiency. Without superstar talent, it's difficult to win at the sport's highest level, much less stay on top consistently.
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Carter may be the first piece of a long rebuild, but there's a good chance immediate turnaround success will be hard to come by.
For now, it remains to be seen.