The New York Giants have high hopes for rookie first-round pick Abdul Carter. Comparisons to former Giants legend Lawrence Taylor have been offered as the potential upside Carter possesses, and while it's always a slippery slope comparing any rookie to one of the NFL's all-time greats, there are legitimate reasons to project that level of expectations for the former Penn State star.
In fact, those expectations are so high that Carter was recently named among eight rookie defenders who are most likely to win the 2025 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award.
"Carter can account for 80-plus tackles, 10-plus tackles for loss and nearly 10 sacks as a rookie, if deployed as both off-ball linebacker and pass-rusher," Bleacher Report's Damian Parson wrote. "If he can put those numbers on his rookie end-of-year stat sheet, his case for Defensive Rookie of the Year will be hard to deny."
The Giants drafted an absolute PHENOM in Abdul Carter😈
— Fireside Giants (@FiresideGiants) May 15, 2025
🔹22.6% Pass-Rush Win Rate in 2024
🔹66 Pressures (2nd/512)
🔹Ranked in the 99th percentile in pass-rush win rate over the last two seasons
Quarterbacks, BEWARE. pic.twitter.com/5f2mWwDBbW
The one thing working against Carter's bid for Defensive Rookie of the Year is the team he plays for. Sure, the Giants are an improved roster compared to a year ago, and the excitement that comes with a new stable of quarterbacks and a defense that can challenge to be a top-five unit in the NFL is justified. But if New York loses a bunch of games in 2025, the odds that Carter can make enough of an individual impact on a losing team to take home an award like that aren't great.
Still, if there's any player who can do it, it's Abdul Carter.
"Carter has the urgency and athletic talent to bombard the stat sheet," NFL.com's Lance Zierlein wrote in his pre-draft scouting report. "He’s always first out and first into contact after the snap but can dart into gaps or around blocks as a penetrator. He’s willing to scrap at the point of attack; additional time in the weight room might be in order for his move up in class. Carter rushes with a rabid, all-game intensity that’s hard for opponents to match. He explodes out of the blocks and can force tackles to abandon their technique to go catch him. He can bend and flatten at the top of the rush or hit a game-breaking spin counter inside. He’s good with his hands but needs to keep working in that area to prevent long punchers from knocking him off-course. Carter’s explosiveness, hunger and body control should have him on track to become a highly productive 3-4 rush linebacker with Pro Bowl talent."
Yep. That sounds like a 2025 Rookie of the Year to me.