The New York Giants selected Penn State linebacker Abdul Carter with the third overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft. He was high on their board and it appears to be a perfect match.

Carter will join an already formidable Giants front seven that includes players such as Dexter Lawrence, Bobby Okereke, Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Micah McFadden.

Rob Rang of FOX Sports recently named Carter the top schematic pick out of the Giants’ seven-player draft class.

Carter is admittedly very low-hanging fruit as the Giants’ biggest rookie contributor, but he has to be included in this article as my current top pick for Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. Carter is electric off the edge, and he’s joining one of the better defensive lines in the NFL, providing an ideal runway for Carter to vault into superstardom. 

Burns was asked last week about how Carter was fitting in as a pro and with the veterans on the defense.

“As a person, cool kid,” Burns said. “At first, he was quiet. He’s starting to loosen up a little bit. But as far as a player, so far, he’s everything that I expected, very twitchy, and explosive. He does have an array of moves.”

“I think he’s all ball,” said defensive coordinator Shane Bowen. “You can tell he perks up when you start talking football with him. I think just his demeanor, how he carries himself. There is an edginess to him that we have seen translate out here in these few practices that we’ve had.”

The Giants will toy with the front seven as the season nears, and beyond. Carter appears to be the chess piece that unlocks this defense and makes it elite.