There's no question the New York Giants landed a total stud with their first-round pick during the 2025 NFL Draft.
Big Blue selected Penn State standout Abdul Carter with the third overall pick — with several analysts and pundits viewing Carter as the best overall player in the draft. Carter will join a Giants pass rush headlined by Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Dexter Lawrence. The addition of Carter could make this pass rusher one of the NFL's best. While Carter has yet to play a down in the NFL, if he plays like he did during his college days, he may be bringing some new hardware with him once his rookie season ends.
Abdul Carter one of five players most likely to win DROY
In an article for Bleacher Report, Damian Parson listed Carter as a player who could most likely win the 2025 Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. His analysis is straightforward and makes you want to crown him the winner now:
"Carter is an explosive athlete with sideline-to-sideline range who elevates the Giants’ run defense. His speed is an asset against dual-threat QBs in the NFC East, such as Jayden Daniels and Jalen Hurts," Parson wrote.
"Having an outstanding athlete and a positionally versatile player such as Carter has multiple benefits for the New York defense. 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. 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."
Despite this draft producing talented defensive players like Jalon Walker (Atlanta Falcons) and Mason Graham (Cleveland Browns), if Carter replicates his success from his college days, why not him for DROY?
The 21-year-old burst onto the scene during his final year at Penn State, recording 12 sacks after totaling 11 over the previous two seasons combined. Carter also had 68 tackles, with 23.5 for loss with the Nittany Lions in 2024. If he carries that production into the NFL, he’ll undoubtedly be a problem for years to come.
With Carter being compared to his Penn State counterpart Micah Parsons—as well as Giants legend and all-time great Lawrence Taylor—DROY might just be the beginning of a career filled with awards.