Big Blue View
An elite player in a year the draft is deep at his position
New York Giants fans have inhabited a world of diminished expectations the last couple of years. Battered by the collapse of the 2022 playoff team as soon as the 2023 season began. Eying a top three 2024 draft pick only to have it ruined by Tommy DeVito and Tyrod Taylor late-season heroics. Having the 2025 top pick slip through their hands late in the season with a meaningless victory over Indianapolis.
Now, having hoped for Cam Ward but seeing all reports having him go to Tennessee at No. 1, then becoming excited about Travis Hunter before hearing that Cleveland is increasingly likely to take him at No. 2, some fans may have become resigned to being disappointed again come the last week of April. They could draft Shedeur Sanders, but increasingly the feeling is that he would be a stretch at No. 3.
That leaves Penn State edge defender Abdul Carter. Carter generally seems to create less excitement among Giants fans because (a) he doesn’t play offense, which is seen as the Giants’ greatest weakness, (b) he is perceived not to address a need on a team that already has Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux and signed Chauncey Golston in free agency.
The only thing I can say about the first point is that if social media are any indication, people criticize Joe Schoen for drafting for need rather than taking the best player available. How that jibes with his selection of Malik Nabers rather than one of the quarterbacks on the board last year, I don’t know. But if Ward and Hunter are off the board, Carter is the BPA.
Regarding the second point, how many edge rushers are too many? Let’s consult the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles:
The Eagles already had veterans Brandon Graham (now retired) and Josh Sweat, and they used a first round draft pick on Nolan Smith in 2023. Enough edge rush? Apparently not, because in 2024 they signed Bryce Huff to a 3 year, $51M free agent contract. Then they used their Round 3 2024 pick on Jalyx Hunt. All of this on a team that had used high first round picks on interior defensive linemen Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter in successive years and already had third rounder Milton Williams from the 2021 draft. Even if Schoen picks up Thibodeaux’s fifth-year option, you can never have too much pass rush, and having Carter would put Schoen in a more advantageous position if he decides that he wants to extend Thibodeaux.
The larger question is really: How good is Abdul Carter? Coming out of Penn State and wearing No. 11, it was inevitable if unfortunate that he’d be labeled the next Micah Parsons. And indeed, Parsons has been mentoring him:
To some extent it’s an unfair comparison - at this point at least, Carter does not appear to be as strong as Parsons, nor has he developed the breadth of...
