Jordan Rananapur 24, 2025, 08:30 pm at
Closejordan Raanan covers ESPN’s New York Giants and can be heard listening to the hosts on ESPN radio. Raanan joined ESPN in 2016.
The team has long been based on the strength of their defense, and the New York Giants were not intending to convey an opportunity to add to the pass rush.
The Giants selected Pennsylvania star Abdul Carter on Thursday night with the third overall pick in the NFL Draft.
The moment he chose Carter, Giants general manager Joe Shane announced that New York would exercise defensive end Cavon Thibodeau’s fifth year option.
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“Kavon will be here… you can’t have enough pass rush,” Shane said.
Carter will join the defensive front, which includes Thibodeau, Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns and Bobby Okereke. He was the Giants’ choice after quarterback Camward went first for the Tennessee Titans. The Jacksonville Jaguars selected two-way star Travis Hunter on their second pick after completing a trade with the Cleveland Browns.
The Giants were unable to convey Carter, who was rated by several teams as the top player in this draft. Carter adapts the bill as something like a blue tip or generational outlook that Shane said recently “you won’t hand over.”
Now, the New York roster has become even stronger. The Giants traded for Burns last offseason and chose Thibodee fifth in the 2022 draft. Both Edge Rush have double-digit sack seasons on their resumes.
Carter had 12 bags last season in his first year in Pennsylvania. He played offball linebacker the previous two seasons and was able to unfold in the same way as the Dallas Cowboys used Star Pass Rush Mika Parsons.
This choice makes the Giants more similar to past teams in glorious years. All four Super Bowl winners were built around a particularly violent and deep pass rush.
Carter visited the Giants in the weeks leading up to the draft and posted a photo of the big blue legend Laurence Taylor whom he saw at the team’s facility. Taylor is one of the Giants legends in that position along with Michael Strahan, Osi Umeniola, Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre Paul.
It now rests on Carter, the unanimous national and Big Ten of the Year defensive player. Carter led everything in FB last season, with a 19.6% pressure percentage off the edge.
