It feels like a lifetime ago that Abdul Carter was asking New York Giants legend Lawrence Taylor to unretire his jersey number, only to sleep through meetings and show up late to practice. His name was all over the news, but for all the wrong reasons. That was so 2025.
Carter's late-season results, compared to his early-to-midseason production, are night and day. It's genuinely shocking what can happen when you actually attend meetings and stop falling asleep during film study, especially as a rookie.
It's objectively crazy how long the former Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year got away with being a terrible teammate, but that's just how things went under former head coach Brian Daboll. There was no accountability from anyone, but general manager Joe Schoen sitting idly by in the corner, refusing to make a move until Week 10 all but proved he will only act reactionary and never proactively, which should be the final nail in his future outlook coffin.
Interim head coach Mike Kafka saw what was happening and immediately punished the Penn State standout for his behavior, and what do you know? He instantly turned his season around. And his long‑overdue emergence even caught the attention of ESPN’s Ben Solak, who awarded the 22-year-old rookie with All-Rookie First Team honors in his latest article.
Abdul Carter breakout highlights Joe Schoen’s reactive leadership
Since his benching, Carter's play has truly been something special. He's looked every bit the 2025 class' best pass-rushing prospect, amassing 3.5 sacks, six tackles for loss, 13 quarterback hits, and 20 tackles, giving him 4.0 sacks, seven TFL, 22 QB hits, and 43 tackles on the season.
Night and day.
Solak's analysis focused more on his abilities and freakish athleticism, which cannot be understated:
He is first among all defensive linemen in quick pressures with 44, and his time to pressure of 2.41 seconds is leaps and bounds above second place (2.57 seconds) among edge rushers. Carter must learn how to convert his incredible first step into more targeted rushes that end with sacks, but the bones of his play are tremendous. He looks like a future double-digit sack artist.
While all of those numbers are impressive, what in the world were the G-Men doing through the first 11 games of the season? Daboll was just letting his prized third-overall pick do whatever he wanted, whenever, and it practically cost him his rookie season.
Fortunately, Kafka benched the rookie for his entitled behavior, and the results have spoken for themselves.
Even still, the Carter's surge is the biggest indictment of Schoen yet. The 46-year-old consistently plays catch-up, while the rest of the league takes charge. Look no further than after the Jaxson Dart pick -- he distances himself when it’s convenient, avoids tough calls, and dodges accountability, instead of making the tough decisions necessary to put out a winning product.
Everyone and their mother knew Dabs shouldn't have lasted as long as he did. But Schoen never held him accountable. Daboll never held Carter accountable. Vicious cycle coming from the top.
This turnaround didn't just happen by accident. It happened the moment someone actually held him accountable... something this team’s been allergic to for years.
Fortunately, it looks like all of that nonsense is in the past, and the Giants can move forward with one of the most promising young pass-rushers the league has seen since Micah Parsons. If ownership wants to drag this team out of its losing ways, they should look for a GM who rolls up their sleeves and gets to work rather than one who hides from tough decisions and accountability.