Big Blue View
The expectations for New York Giants rookie Abdul Carter are through the roof. Maybe even through the stratosphere and all the way to the moon.
Carter didn’t help those expectations shortly after the draft by asking the greatest linebacker of all time, Lawrence Taylor, if he could wear Taylor’s retired No. 56 jersey. He was, of course, rightly rebuffed.
Carter, though, has done nothing to quell the hype since.
He was electric in the spring, although with practices in shorts and t-shirt without real contact judging what was happening on the field with line play was a fool’s errand. He was dominant in training camp. He was impactful in preseason, even though he did not have a sack. In a miniscule 28-snap sample size — so few it made you wonder if the Giants did not really want to show Carter to the rest of the league — he had five pressures. Three of those in just six snaps vs. the Buffalo Bills.
Dexter Lawrence, defensive captain and star defensive tackle, tried to tamp down expectations about Carter when asked about him following one of the joint practices against the New York Jets.
“I don’t know yet,” Lawrence said. “We’ll see. We’ll see.”
The smile on Lawrence’s face when he uttered those words said what he wouldn’t — he knows what Carter can be.
Lawrence’s teammates haven’t held back in speaking about Carter, the No. 3 overall pick out of Penn State.
“He can be as good as he wants to be,” said Chauncey Golston. “The sky’s the limit for him. It’s all about mindset and him going and doing it.”
Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen obviously tried to be guarded in remarks about Carter, but the potential he sees came through in these remarks:
“Obviously, the talent shows up out there on the field,” Bowen said. “I think he’s a very instinctive player. Finds ways to get to the football. He’s got a natural feel to dip, to lean, to bend. You see those traits show up out there on the practice field … I like his versatility and what he’s going to be able to bring for our defense.”
Earlier in the offseason, we posted some of the things teammates were saying about Carter. Let’s repeat them:
“That dude is a animal … When you watch the explosiveness, the ability for him to turn his body, spin his body. I can’t wait for people to actually see him … He’s got an arsenal, and I can’t wait for him to unleash it.” — Malik Nabers to Kay Adams
“Jit (is) a dog. He does what he got to do, he’s about his business. All it comes down to is really just making sure that he’s clean with the calls and the adjustments because it is moving a little bit faster. It is a little more detailed than college, but as far as raw athleticism, traits, he got it. I really don’t got to talk too much...
