The first round of the 2025 NFL Draft may have been a franchise-altering home run for the New York Giants.
It’s safe to say that the 2025 season has not gone the way the Giants envisioned it. However, the play
of rookies Abdul Carter and Jaxson Dart has to give the Giants — and their fans — plenty of hope for the future. The two have quickly established themselves as part of the foundation for the Giants’ rebuild, and the core of competitive teams for years to come.
And they’re being recognized for it.
Carter, the third overall pick, is currently the favorite to win Defensive Rookie of The Year, while Dart, the 25th overall pick, is the favorite to win Offensive Rookie of The Year.
It isn’t much of a surprise that Carter is the favorite to win DROY for 2025, considering the fact that he’s been the odds-on favorite to win the award since before the 2025 NFL Draft.
Carter has nearly as much support on the national poll as the next four defenders combined. Of course, some vocally disappointed Giants fans have already labeled Carter a “bust” due to his lack of sacks on the season. However, the rookie pass rusher has been incredibly disruptive this year.
Carters raw speed and agility off the line of scrimmage has forced blockers to panic on a weekly basis, resulting in plays like this:
Carter currently has 33 pressures in the first eight games and leads the NFL in quick pressures — pressure generated in less than 2.5 seconds. That consistent presence in the backfield has blown up offensive plays and helped Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux have some of the best years of their career.
The expectation is that a breakout game is coming for Carter, and it’s only a question of when.
What many did not see coming was Jaxson Dart’s emergence as a starting quarterback.
Most considered him a “project” quarterback, a young player with the raw physical tools, but who needed a year (or more) of seasoning before he would be ready to take the keys to the offense. Instead, was named the in Week 4 against an undefeated Los Angeles Chargers team and emerged with an upset victory.
Since then, Dart turned the NFL on it’s head and was named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of The Month for October.
Dart has justified the Giants’ faith in him over the last five weeks. In doing so he has not only been the best rookie quarterback in the NFL, he’s established himself as a quarterback who’s play is the reason why his team wins.
Dart faces some very stiff competition for the title of OROY, with Emeka Egbuka getting off to a fantastic start for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (35 receptions, 562 yards, 5 touchdowns), while Tyler Warren has been among the best tight ends in the NFL, and is currently 16th among all pass catchers in receiving yards (37 receptions, 492, 3 touchdowns).
However, it’s very fair to say that no offensive rookie in the NFL has done more with less than Dart. It also helps that the Giants’ quarterback has already produced multiple highlight reel plays in huge moments.
Can Dart and Carter sustain their level of play and sweep the Rookie Of The Year awards for the Giants?
