Expectations are high for the third pick in the draft
There’s a strange feeling around the New York Giants.
I know it’s not food poisoning, I did that last Halloween and I definitely don’t recommend. But is it? Could it be…
Something approaching ‘hope’ or ‘optimism’?
Yeah, that might be it.
One of the biggest reasons for that strange “hopeful” feeling is how the Giants managed the top of the 2025 draft. They were able to not only secure Abdul Carter, who might wind up being the best player at any position in the draft, as well as their (potential) quarterback of the future in Jaxson Dart.
Nobody is expecting much from Dart this year, and the hope here is that he’s a Pro Bowl clip board holder as a rookie.
But Carter is a different matter entirely. He’s expected to be a major part of the Giants’ defense and help power a defensive resurgence for Big Blue. Expectations are so high for Carter that he’s headlining NFL.com’s 2025 All-Rookie defense.
Edge – Abdul Carter (Round 1, 3rd overall)
Widely considered the best defensive player in this draft class, Carter is unsurprisingly the favorite for Defensive Rookie of the Year. His explosiveness off the edge jumps off the screen, but with Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux in place as the incumbent outside linebackers, what’s the plan with the No. 3 overall pick? Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen sees it as “a really good problem to have.” And he’s not wrong: You can never have enough good pass rushers.
“Ultimately, we want to get our best 11 on the field,” Bowen said last month. “Whatever way we gotta maneuver to do that, we gotta find ways to get the guys that can impact the game on the field.”
Carter is undoubtedly one of the best 11 on this defensive roster, and playing alongside Burns, Thibodeaux and DT Dexter Lawrence, the rookie’s poised to get the kind of one-on-one matchups he can feast on.
It really isn’t a surprise that Carter is the first defender listed in this exercise. As noted, he’s frontrunner for DROY and there’s an expectation that he’ll have a similar impact as Micah Parsons as a rookie. Giants’ defensive line coach Andre Patterson compared Carter to Elvis Dumervil for his natural ability to win rushes and get into the backfield.
As a refresher, Parsons had 13.0 sacks, 30 QB hits, 20 tackles for a loss, and 84 total tackles, and 3 forced fumbles as a rookie.
As noted in NFL.com’s piece, Carter will be sharing the field — and snaps — with Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, as well as Dexter Lawrence.
Burns had one of the best pass rush win rates in the NFL last year despite playing through multiple injuries (groin, ankle, and neck are the ones we know about), while Lawrence was arguably the best pass rushing defensive tackle in the NFL prior to his own injury. Thibodeaux is also underrated as a pass rusher (more on that next week) so it might just be a true race to the quarterback for the Giants’ defensive front.
The question of how Shane Bowen gets all his rushers onto the field is going to be a fascinating one.
We’ll get far more information once the pads go on in training camp, but so far the Giants are moving Carter around the defensive front. He’s played EDGE, off-ball linebacker, and rushed from a defensive tackle alignment in practices this spring.
The speculation here (myself, personally) is that he’ll continue to be a wildcard for the Giants’ defense. My expectation is that he’ll play off-ball linebacker on early or short downs, drawing on his experience prior to 2024 at Penn State, before moving to somewhere along the line of scrimmage on late or long downs. The biggest weakness in his scouting report is a (relative) lack of play strength, as well as playing the run as an edge defender. Leaning into Carter’s versatility will allow the Giants to hide his weaknesses while also putting him in position to use his explosiveness to disrupt behind the line of scrimmage.
Carter might not rack up the same kind of numbers as Parsons, but he certainly seems likely to be an “instant impact” player.
Elsewhere in the NFC East
Unfortunately, Carter isn’t the only defender in the NFC East to get a mention on the All-Rookie defense.
Dallas Cowboys’ second-round pick Donovan Ezeiruaku (edge, Boston College – prospect profile), and Washington Commanders’ second-round pick Trey Amos (CB, Mississippi – prospect profile) both made the team as well.