Why Giants OLB Abdul Carter Still Has a Chance for Defensive ROY Honors

Don't be fooled by Carter's lack of sacks; the young defender is making quite the impact.

New York Giants linebacker Abdul Carter (51) runs out of the tunnel during a Thursday Night Football game between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on Oct. 9, 2025. | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

At first glance, New York Giants rookie outside linebacker Abdul Carter’s season, in which he has just half a sack (that he posted back in Week 1) and 22 tackles, is not exactly what people were expecting from the No. 3 pick in the 2025 draft and the most highly touted defender of the current rookie class.

But in reality, Carter has been far more impactful in his first season with the Giants, proving that sacks aren’t the be-all, end-all on which a defender’s impact should be measured.

Carter, per NFL+, is currently tied with Cleveland’s Myles Garrett for the ninth-most pressures in the NFL (34), but because he has just half a sack, that translates into a 1.5% pressure-to-sack conversion rate, which is the third-lowest among 61 defenders with a minimum of 20 pressures.

In addition, Carter has 20 quick pressures (2.5 seconds or less), which leads the team, and is the third-most in the NFL (behind Nik Bonitto’s 22 and Will Anderson’s 21). 

It is also the most by a rookie through the first nine games of a season since 2018. The nearest rookie to Carter, according to NFL+,  is Donovan Ezeiruaku of the Cowboys.  

For these reasons, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell has Carter as his top candidate through nine weeks to win DROY honors.

“The sacks will come,” Barnwell wrote. “But the underlying pressure metrics suggest that there's a lot more happening. He has been the best rookie pass rusher in the NFL, and that has been by a considerable margin.”

If there is one weakness thus far in Carter's game, it’s been in run support, though Barnwell noted it’s a team-wide problem for the Giants, who rank last in EPA per play against designed rushes this season per NFL+.

Barnwell, however, predicts big things for Carter in these last eight games, stating, “Don't be surprised if he has a more visible second half.”

The Giants, who currently rank 16th in the league in sacks with 21 and whose 6.58% sacks per pass attempt rate ranks 23rd in the league, would undoubtedly welcome a few more of the ultimate defensive pass rush stat from their young up-and-coming rookie.

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