The New York Giants are hoping for, and expecting, big things from edge defender Abdul Carter as he enters his second year.
The team is expecting that he’ll live up to his athletic potential after a disappointing rookie season. The Giants are hoping that Carter can become the kind of impact player they envisioned when selecting him with the third overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
For his part, Carter has his sights set just a bit higher than being an impact player on defense. He wants to be, and
believes he can be, the best defender in the NFL.
“I want to be Defensive Player of the Year,” Carter said, when asked about his goals.
This isn’t some far-off goal for Carter, either. He believes he can do it.
“Absolutely,” he said. “I know what I’m capable of. I know if I put the work in and believe in myself, trust in myself, trust in my teammates, trust in my coaching, I can be whoever I want to be.”
If the first three days of training camp are any indication, Carter is at the very least a problem for opposing offensive linemen. He was credited with multiple sacks on Thursday and followed that up with at least one more on Friday. Carter has been a consistent presence in the offensive backfield, and a highly disruptive force behind the line of scrimmage.
In a change from his rookie camp, Carter has been primarily working on the defensive right, over the left tackle. He insists that he’ll be moving around as camp progresses, saying, “I’m in one spot right now, but I’m still going to be moving around. I’m going to be over the guards, be over the centers. It’s going to be fun.”
But for now the coaches seem to be controlling variables for Carter, only sending him against the left tackle. But he also isn’t rushing against just any left tackle, he’s rushing against one of the NFL’s best in Andrew Thomas. The battles between the two have been some of the highlights of camp over the first three days.
For his part, Thomas has complimented both Carter’s athletic prowess as well as his improvement since last season.
“He can work edges really well,” Thomas said on Thursday. “Part of that is that he’s not a super tall rusher. He’s bending down with good ankle flexion. He’s really low to the ground, but he also has a good change of direction, so you can’t just anticipate which way he’s going to go, because he can cut off both feet.
“He’s stringing his moves together better. He’s using his power more, and you can tell he just has a better understanding for different types of blocks, different types of attacks, recognizing play schemes.”
For his part, Carter is grateful to go against a great left tackle who will push him to excel.
“I’m still growing,” Carter said. “But it means a lot coming from him [Thomas], especially the guys he’s been against, how long he’s been doing that at a high level.
“Andrew, he’s the best of the best. Whenever we’re going against each other, we get the most out of each other. If I beat him, I’m going to let him hear about it, but he’s the best of the best.”
Carter has gotten the better of Thomas several times so far. Though, in fairness to both players, pads haven’t gone on yet, which does give the pass rusher a distinct advantage. But, as the saying goes, “To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.”
It follows then, that practicing against, and beating, one of the best left tackles in the NFL is a good first step if Carter wants to achieve his goal of being the Defensive Player of the Year.
