Matt Citak

NFL.com's 2025 All-Rookie Team predictions

With offseason workout programs now in the rearview mirror, the focus turns to next month when teams report for the start of training camp.

One of the players that fans will be most excited to see is third overall pick Abdul Carter, who will finally be given the opportunity to show what he can do when the pads come on and contact is allowed at practice.

NFL.com's Gennaro Filicerecently released his predictions for the 2025 NFL All-Rookie Team, and leading the way on the defensive side of the ball is none other than the Giants' rookie edge rusher.

"Widely considered the best defensive player in this draft class, Carter is unsurprisingly the favorite for Defensive Rookie of the Year," wrote Filice. "His explosiveness off the edge jumps off the screen, but with Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux in place as the incumbent outside linebackers, what's the plan with the No. 3 overall pick? Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen sees it as "a really good problem to have." And he's not wrong: You can never have enough good pass rushers.

"Ultimately, we want to get our best 11 on the field," Bowen said last month. "Whatever way we gotta maneuver to do that, we gotta find ways to get the guys that can impact the game on the field."

"Carter is undoubtedly one of the best 11 on this defensive roster, and playing alongside Burns, Thibodeaux and DT Dexter Lawrence, the rookie's poised to get the kind of one-on-one matchups he can feast on," Filice added.

The 6-foot-3, 252-pound linebacker registered 12.0 sacks and a nation-high 23.5 tackles for loss, along with two forced fumbles and four passes defensed, for Penn State last year on his way to being named Unanimous All-American and first-team All-Big Ten.

He was also selected as the Nagurski-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and the Smith-Brown Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year, all in his first season lining up on the edge.

Prior to the 2024 campaign, Carter primarily lined up at off-ball linebacker, where he totaled 11.0 sacks, 17 tackles for loss, nine passes defensed, one interception, and three forced fumbles to go with his 104 total tackles (61 solo) across his first two collegiate seasons. He earned second-team All-Big Ten honors from the media both years, while being tabbed first-team all-conference by the Big Ten coaches in 2023.

The Giants have only had one player be named AP Defensive Rookie of the Year since the award's inception in 1967. That was in 1981, of course, when Lawrence Taylor not only took home the award for the league's top defensive rookie, but was also selected as the NFL Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Pro after recording 9.5 sacks.

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