One more mid-season accolade for Carter:

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Defensive Rookie of the Year

My top pick after Week 4: Carson Schwesinger, LB, Cleveland Browns

Injuries have thrown this award into disarray, with 49ers edge rusher Mykel Williams becoming the latest rookie to go down with a serious injury — he tore his right ACL in New Jersey last weekend. Schwesinger, my pick at the quarter-season mark, will miss extended time after sustaining a high ankle sprain against the Patriots that will tank his chances of winning this award in the long term, while Travis Hunter is out indefinitely with a knee injury. Would-be candidates such as cornerbacks Maxwell Hairston, Upton Stout and Will Johnson and edge rusher Jalon Walker have missed action, too. It hasn't been a banner year for defensive rookies, in part because of all those injuries.

1. Abdul Carter, Edge, New York Giants

The sacks will come. Carter has only a half-sack to his name through eight games, but the underlying pressure metrics suggest that there's a lot more happening. He has been the best rookie pass rusher in the NFL, and that has been by a considerable margin.

Per NFL Next Gen Stats, Carter has 34 pressures. No other rookie has more than 17. He has 20 quick pressures, the immediate victories that help blow up plays before they form. No other rookie has more than nine, and Carter's total is third among all players (trailing only Nik Bonitto and Will Anderson Jr.). He hasn't been excellent against the run, a teamwide problem for a Giants defense that ranks last in EPA per play against designed rushes this season, but Carter's time is coming. Don't be surprised if he has a more visible second half.

2 comments

  1. Dart, AT and Burns not even getting a mention in the OROY, Protector and DPOY categories is so frustrating. If we have a winning record, these guys are easily in each conversation.

    We’re burying them.

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