As you’ll recall, Carter — perhaps because of youthful naivete — previously angled for Nos. 11 and 56, which are retired by the Giants for legends Phil Simms and Lawrence Taylor (probably the NFL’s best defensive player ever). Simms and Taylor both wisely said no.

Abdul Carter has tackled his first big task in the NFL by choosing a jersey number. After a search that made some headlines, the New York Giants’ first-round pick is wearing No. 51.

After a couple weeks of browsing, New York Giants first-round pick Abdul Carter selected the No. 51 jersey off the rack of available digits on Friday.