New York Giants' rookie first-round pick Abdul Carter is the odds-on favorite to win Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2025. It's a reasonable expectation for a player whose skill set is as dynamic as Carter's; there's a good chance he'll break Lawrence Taylor's Giants unofficial rookie record of 9.5 sacks this year, and sacks sell when it comes to end-of-year awards.
But there is one obstacle that could stand in the way of Carter making good on his maximum upside this year: playing time.
Carter is one of three top-tier edge rushers on the Giants' roster. Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux are the others.
"You got three guys for two spots when you look at it from the outside in," defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said, via ESPN. "It's a really good problem to have."
Every problem needs a solution, and for Big Blue, the answer to this playing time riddle could come from their most-hated division rival, the Dallas Cowboys.
Dallas had a similar situation in 2022, when Micah Parsons, another former Penn State star, joined a multi-headed monster on defense with the Cowboys. Rather than relegate Parsons to the bench or a rotational edge-rushing role, he was deployed from various spots along the defensive front, something Carter is more than capable of doing because of his off-ball experience during his first two years in college.
"The 2022 Dallas Cowboys had Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, Dante Fowler Jr. and Dorance Armstrong all finish with at least six sacks each. Parsons, another Penn State product with whom Carter is often compared, was moved around regularly, while Lawrence and Armstrong sometimes slid inside," ESPN's Jordan Raanan wrote. "Dallas finished tied for third in the league that season with 54 sacks."
Still, the priority remains developing Carter into one of the NFL's premier edge rushers, which might not be fully realized until Thibodeaux moves on from New York, assuming the Giants are unwilling to commit to a second, long-term deal.
New York exercised their fifth-year option in Thibodeaux's contract this offseason, but there's been no indication that GM Joe Schoen is interested in inking the former first-round pick to a new contract anytime soon.
