The Giants do not need to tuck Abdul Carter into a safe little package in Year 2. They need to let him breathe fire.
That’s the takeaway from a rookie season that already looked disruptive even if the sack column stayed modest. Carter finished with 72 pressures and only four sacks, but the message from the tape and the numbers was the same: quarterbacks felt him.
There’s no need for a training-camp clip to sell the idea. Carter already showed the burst, the motor and the violence to become a major headache when the Giants let him hunt instead of asking him to blend in.
And the setup around him is exactly why New York should keep pushing the envelope. With Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux on the edge, Carter doesn’t have to be the one guy offenses can key on snap after snap. If protections slide too hard toward one rusher, somebody else gets a cleaner lane.
That’s where Carter’s game can really start to tilt an afternoon. His rookie year already came with plenty of disruption; the finishing touch just wasn’t always there.
That’s not unusual for a young pass rusher. Pressures start turning into sacks once the counters sharpen and the guys around him keep the pocket from holding up.
New York can help him get there by moving him around. Line him up wide.
Let him loop inside. Give him snaps where the quarterback knows exactly where he’s coming from and still can’t do much about it.
The Giants also have some help up front beyond the edge rushers. D.J. Reader and Shelby Harris were brought in to help the interior hold up after Lawrence’s exit, which only adds to the case for letting Carter play fast and aggressive.
If he matches the kind of heat he had last season and converts a few more of those pressures into sacks, the Giants will have turned a dangerous player into a full-blown problem. New York should lean into that version of Abdul Carter.
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The clearest hint came in the draft, when New York passed on taking a center altogether. For a position that often draws plenty of insurance policy moves, that is a meaningful vote of confidence in Schmitz and a reminder that the Giants appear ready to let him keep owning the job. The question now is less about whether the team believes in him than how far that belief extends once games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
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Newsome and Jaxson Dart later moved past a sideline dustup, and the cornerback came away praising the atmosphere and the players around him. Deonte Banks is also part of that crowded mix at corner, adding another layer to a spot battle that already has the secondary pushing the whole unit forward, which is exactly the sort of problem the Giants would rather have in August than try to manufacture later. [Read more 🡒]
Evan Neals Giants Opportunity Is Starting To Feel Like A Final Verdict
Evan Neals path with the Giants has already taken a sharp turn from where it once seemed headed. After the team declined his fifth-year option but brought him back on a one-year deal under new head coach John Harbaugh, Neal was shifted from tackle to guard in hopes of finding a better fit and a clearer way to contribute.
Training camp, though, has not given him much of a foothold. Neal has been getting limited work and has spent most of his time with the third team, which is a tough place for a former first-round pick trying to reestablish himself. Insider Dan Duggan has pointed out that it is hard to see how Neal can make a real push for a roster spot, and with the competition around him moving ahead, his Giants future is starting to look more like a test than an opportunity. [Read more 🡒]