The NFL is a league of parity, a beacon of hope for downtrodden teams like the New York Giants. With prolonged struggles comes a string of early first-round picks, and the teams that can find the most blue-chip talent in Round 1 set themselves up for long-term success.
At the beginning of Giants general manager Joe Schoen’s tenure, those returns weren’t promising. Neither of his first two top-10 picks, edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux and offensive tackle Evan Neal, have lived up to their billing (although the former is blossoming into an acceptable starter).
Last season, New York’s luck changed for the better. Receiver Malik Nabers, taken sixth overall in 2024, immediately became a star in East Rutherford. He’s the type of talent that redefines a unit and forces opponents to reconfigure their game plans.
The Giants will hope 2025 first-round pick, edge rusher Abdul Carter, can do the same. NFL Media recently listed him among the favorites to make an impact on defense in 2025.
“Widely considered the best defensive player in this draft class, Carter is unsurprisingly the favorite for Defensive Rookie of the Year,” Gennaro Filice wrote. “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.”
Thibodeaux, Carter, and Brian Burns project to be the best crop of edge rushers in the NFC East. Armed with defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, he’s in a position to have success.
The biggest question for New York will be how Carter is optimized as a rookie. He may start from the jump over Thibodeaux, but he’s bound to see snaps as a de facto defensive tackle, too, on obvious passing downs. With his experience at off-ball linebacker, he can comfortably mug the A-gap and offer a different look.
“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,” Filice added.
Carter’s draft capital demands he performs in Year 1. New York’s defense, both up front and in the secondary, offers even more insulation. The Penn State product is a long-term building block for the Giants, but his chief purpose in 2025 will be raising the ceiling of a talented unit. It’s imperative he makes good on that hype as a rookie.