Abdul Carter is living up to the hype. The third pick in the 2025 NFL Draft continues to amaze during Giants training camp, with a rare combination of strength, speed, and skill that has allowed him to repeatedly win drills against offensive linemen and get to the quarterback.
Abdul Carter is a highlight machine at training camp
In Friday’s one-on-one drills, Carter went up against multiple members of the Giants’ starting offensive line, getting past each one of them for what would likely be quarterback sacks on Sundays.
During team drills, Carter was matched up against tight end Greg Dulcich, but quickly burst off the line and got past Dulcich nearly untouched. The play was blown dead with Carter having a clear shot at quarterback Russell Wilson.
When the one-on-one drills started, Carter matched up against offensive tackle Jermaine Elumenour, gaining inside leverage on Elumenour and winning the rep. He followed that up by completely manhandling center John Michael Schmitz, using his hands to gain a favorable position on Schmitz as he did with Elumenour.
Carter’s best highlight of the day came on the next rep against guard Jon Runyan, with Carter making Runyan look silly by using a lightning-quick spin move to shake free of Runyan completely. His last rep of that sequence came against fellow guard Joshua Ezeudu, with Carter using a stutter-step to get around Ezeudu and win yet another rep.
When team drills resumed in the afternoon, Abdul repeated his spin move on the left side of the line, spinning free of Eluemenour for a would-be sack of Wilson. After the spin, Carter went low to avoid further contact from the tackle and pursued Wilson, a move known as the ghost technique.
Giants’ Defensive Front Will Be A Problem For Opposing Offenses
As good as Abdul Carter has been, he is just one member of what should be a vaunted defensive front this season. Carter joins Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux as versatile linebackers who can line up as edge rushers and get to the quarterback from either position.
Anchoring the line is nose tackle Dexter Lawrence, who is among the best defensive tackles in the NFL. Despite missing the end of the season due to injury, Lawrence had 9.5 sacks and an exceptional run defense grade of 83.9 on PFF.
Behind the quality starters, Joe Schoen addressed the team’s need for defensive line depth by acquiring Chauncey Gholston, Roy Robertson-Harris, and Jeremiah Ledbetter in free agency.
Schoen also drafted defensive tackle Darius Alexander to play behind Lawrence, a luxury the Giants did not have last year when Dexter went down with a season-ending injury. All in all, the Giants’ defensive front ranked third in Pro Football Focus’s ranking of all 32 defensive lines, only behind the Steelers and Eagles at one and two, respectively.
With a secondary now being led by top free agent acquisitions in cornerback Paulson Adebo and safety Jevon Holland, the front seven should have the ability to play free, stuff the run, and most importantly, rush the passer, with Carter being the biggest threat.
More about: New York Giants
