Giants' Abdul Carter lands on All-Rookie Team, named an instant impact player

USA Today

5 hours ago

Giants' Abdul Carter lands on All-Rookie Team, named an instant impact player
When the New York Giants selected edge rusher Abdul Carter with the third overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, they expected him to be able to play immediately.
So far, through organized team activities (OTAs) and minicamp, those expectations remain intact as Carter has given no one a reason to doubt him. The Giants have wrapped up minicamp and now go on break until July 22, when training camp begins.
Carter will be ready to go when training camp begins next month, and he's been named to NFL.com's All-Rookie Team as an instant impact player.
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.
Carter may not have led Penn State in tackles his senior season, but no one came close to his 12 sacks for 89 yards. That's an average of nearly 7.5 yards per sack, which is a huge number.
Yes, that was college, and how many snaps he takes will be the ultimate factor in his productivity this year. But you can believe that Carter will make the most of each of his opportunities and prove each week that he deserves to be on the field.