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May 10, 2025; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll greets linebacker Abdul Carter (51) during rookie minicamp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images John Jones-Imagn Images

SI's Early Choice for Best Giants Rookie Revealed

Originally posted on New York Giants on SI
By Stephen Lebitsch | Last updated May 24, 2025 4:00 PM ET

Throughout the first month after the New York Giants drafted him on the big stage in Green Bay, it's been very hard for rookie first-round pick Abdul Carter to ignore all the endless early noise regarding his prospective debut in the Big Apple.

While the football world knew that the Giants desperately needed a young quarterback to grow into the potential franchise player of the future, none could deny the intrigue of seeing the franchise use its No. 3 overall pick on Carter. He was arguably the biggest talent in the 2025 class and would instantly bring more juice to an already packed defensive room.

Joining a defensive front with three veteran impact players in Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, and Kayvon Thibodeaux, the Giants are slated to have a fearsome four that will cause huge problems for opposing quarterbacks on Sundays and repeat what started as a heavy-pressure system for New York in the first half of the 2024 campaign before injuries took their toll.

Among those players, one of whom is believed to be competing with Carter in camp this summer for a larger role, it feels like most people want to see what the first-year edge rusher can do after he flashed one of the brightest pass-rushing stints at Penn State last season that featured 12 sacks and a 92.4 pass rushing grade.

Likewise, a new set of predictions by SI.com's Daniel Flick fully believes Carter will outright shine among the rest of the talent in his class, both team and league-wide, naming him as the Giants' pick forthe best rookie in advance of the upcoming season.

"Carter, the No. 1 player on SI’s big board, has the explosiveness, fluidity, and hand refinement to be the same game-wrecker in New York as he was at Penn State," Flick wrote.

"Carter understands the mental chess match against tackles and is athletic enough to win more times than not. The Giants’ defensive line is deep, and Carter could get one-on-one matchups on the perimeter. History says he’ll win."

Carter will undoubtedly be one of the rookies on the Giants who finds himself inserted into the pass-rushing equation from day one, but the number of his reps will not just be handed to him because he was the organization's top choice in the draft.

As mentioned, Carter holds heavy expectations from the Giants fanbase and the league at large, and much of that has been created by himself as he has strived to mirror his impending tenure after some of the greatest players in Giants history, none less than the impeccable Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor who recently spoke to the team and shook Carter's hand for the first time.

Unlike Taylor, who was purely one-of-one and likely never felt like he had to compete with anybody during his career, Carter has his veteran teammate in Thibodeaux, who just as much needs to have a more impactful season.

Thibodeaux saw some regression from his 11.5 sack resume two seasons ago and will be looking to bounce back as the team's starting edge rusher so that he doesn't become midseason trade bait and potentially earns a new deal.

Should Carter want to live up to the expectation of being the Giants' best rookie this season, he will need to challenge the rest of his position group and continue to showcase how efficiently he can get to the quarterback and wreak havoc on their game plans.

Luckily, he's found arguably the perfect home for that mission, as the Giants were heading for one of the best sack-creating teams in the NFL last season. They finished with 45 total takedowns and were among the top five and third in the entire NFC, meaning it most likely will be their bread and butter as they look to compete with the other teams that hold stronger offensive units.

The Giants' offense should still be improved with some new pieces, but it remains to be seen how it all gels together on the field. The same goes for the defense, except there continues to be immense optimism for Carter and company and little concern that he will live up to the hype as the road to training camp and the 2025 season continues.

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