Abdul Carter, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, reportedly wants to pay homage to New York Giants great Lawrence Taylor by wearing his number, “56.” Analyst Bomani Jones didn’t like the rookie’s request.
Giants Rookie Abdul Carter Denied After Asking to Wear Lawrence Taylor’s No. 56
Penn State EDGE Abdul Carter was too promising a talent for the New York Giants to pass up with the No. 3 overall choice in last weekend’s NFL Draft. The franchise will lean on the former Nittany Lions edge rusher as it aims to return to the program’s once-great heights.
He made headlines recently when he requested to wear the same digits as Pro Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor.
“For those of you who don’t know, Micah Parsons asked Abdul Carter if he was gonna wear No. 11,” Jones said Wednesday on “The Right Time with Bomani Jones.”
“Micah Parsons still wears No. 11 for the Cowboys, you know, put on for Penn State… Abdul Carter said he had a different number in mind, and that number was 56. I don’t like this boy, purely on the strength of that.”
After hearing Carter’s desire to wear the jersey the Hall of Fame linebacker made famous with Big Blue, Taylor said, “Get another number. I don’t care if it’s double zero, and then make it famous.”
“Abdul Carter said, ‘No, it’s cool.’ Something to the effect of, ‘This is gonna put a chip on my shoulder,'” Jones said. “I’m like, ‘How dare you? How dare you?”
The worst thing he could say was NO!! My stance don’t change, LT is the 🐐 nothing but respect… This just gonna make me work even harder!! I love it.
— Abdul Carter (@1NCRDB1) April 26, 2025
“The worst thing he could say was NO!! My stance doesn’t change; LT is the [goat emoji] nothing but respect… This just gonna make me work even harder!! I love it,” Carter wrote.
Jones’ guest, ESPN’s Shannon Penn, agreed with his host’s stance.
“You shouldn’t have even asked,” Penn said. “It shouldn’t have even come to that. I appreciate the confidence. I appreciate where you wanna be and the type of player and all of that. But, some things don’t need to be asked.
“The reason you can’t have it is the only reason you asked, and the only reason you asked is because it’s LT’s number,” Jones said. “Have we reached a place where people just don’t realize what exactly this Lawrence Taylor thing is or was about?”
During his career, Taylor played with the urgency of a lunatic. He was a first-team All-Pro in each of his first nine seasons. In 1986, he became the league’s first defensive MVP in a decade and a half.
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