How soon is too soon to declare that an incoming first-round pick will be a star? Because the New York Giants' first-year pass rusher Abdul Carter may already be on that path.
Early in training camp, Carter continues to generate buzz for his performance. During Friday's practice, many Giants media members declared Carter was unblockable throughout team period and one-on-ones.
Hello Abdul Carter! Unblockable. pic.twitter.com/gGkZogtXUG
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) August 1, 2025
Over the past week, social media has been littered with clips of him making opposing offensive linemen look silly attempting to block him. Whether it's beating veterans off the snap or deploying an explosive pass rush move, Carter has looked nothing like a rookie EDGE rusher typically does.
The Giants aren't even in game prep for their first preseason game, and Carter is cycling through multiple rush moves that leave his offensive teammates stumped and frustrated.
Every Abdul Carter 1v1 rep. He’s just NASTY pic.twitter.com/Hx7ccI4wYA
— Talkin’ Giants (@TalkinGiants) August 1, 2025
A large piece of what separated Carter from other EDGE prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft was his natural ability to dominate on every single rep. Despite a complex transition in his final year at Penn State from off-ball linebacker to defensive end, he totalled 24 TFLs and 12.5 sacks.
We're already starting to see glimpses of this, and many are taking notice of those rare instincts.
On a recent episode of Bleav in Giants, Giants legend Carl Banks pointed out that unique trait and acknowledged a similarity between Carter and his former HOF teammate Lawrence Taylor.
"Abdul Carter, he's just different. There's something that's different ... I said, 'I bet you if you called him over here right now and asked him, 'What did he do? What move was that?' He'll probably tell you, 'I don't know. I got to look at the film.'
"That is the stuff that, this again, folks, is not a comparison, but Lawrence [Taylor] used to do things like that. And we used to be like, 'How'd you do that?'
"He's like, 'What?' He literally would say, 'What?' He's like, 'I don't know.'”
The parallel that Banks is drawing between Carter and Taylor is the undescribable ability to always know how to win a play in the moment. While Banks isn't directly comparing him to Taylor, arguably the greatest Giant of all time, it's still incredibly promising to hear.
Carter has a very long way to go to even sniff the 142 career sacks, three Defensive Player of the Year awards, and two Super Bowls that Taylor racked up in his 13-year career. That doesn't mean it's too soon for Giants fans to get excited over the buzz a rookie is generating in training camp.
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