Abdul Carter, New York Giants. With established veterans Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux on the edges, Carter has been more of a moveable chess piece on DC Shane Bowen’s board, splitting duties as a pass rusher and traditional off-ball linebacker. But as we saw in this past Sunday’s upset of the Chargers, this dude has juice off the edge that can’t be taught. Just ask Justin Herbert, who took a whopping five QB hits from Carter, with Pro Football Focus crediting the rookie with eight pressures on the day. Yes, the disruptive display came against a severely compromised Bolts O-line, but that doesn’t entirely diminish the effort. Good edge rushers abuse backup tackles. That’s what Carter did. And four games into the season, I have the same feeling I’ve had since April: The Giants got the No. 1 player in the draft at No. 3 overall.
Cam Skattebo. Aptly described as a “carnage creator” by my colleague Lance Zierlein, Skattebo gutsily gives you everything he’s got in his 5-11, 215-pound frame, playing with a fearlessness that’s fully captivating. And he’s versatile, too, as evidenced by his Sunday night showing in Week 3, when he led the Giants with 60 yards rushing, 61 yards receiving and scored the team’s only touchdown. The Chiefs unimpressively earned their first win of the season on that night, but Skattebo was the most entertaining player on the field.