If getting the quarterback is the most important thing in football, then getting after the quarterback might rank second. For the Giants in particular, it is close.
The top 12 players on the franchise's career sacks list all made a Super Bowl with Big Blue. Of those, 10 have at least one ring. Of those, seven have two rings. Combined, they have won 17 Super Bowls and appeared in 20 of them.
You have to scroll all the way down to Dexter Lawrence at No. 13 to get to a player who has not played in the biggest game. There's still time, of course, but that's putting the Abdul Carter way before the horse.
"You can't have enough pass rushers," general manager Joe Schoen said minutes after the selection of the unanimous All-American with the third overall choice.
Giants draft picks tour their new home at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center.
Edge Abdul Carter
QB Jaxson Dart, Edge Abdul Carter
QB Jaxson Dart
Edge Abdul Carter, Brian Daboll Head Coach
DT Darius Alexander
Edge Abdul Carter
Madelyn Burke, DT Darius Alexander
QB Jaxson Dart
Edge Abdul Carter
DT Darius Alexander
Carl Banks, Edge Abdul Carter
Edge Abdul Carter
QB Jaxson Dart
DL Darius Alexander
Edge Abdul Carter, OLB Brian Burns
Edge Abdul Carter
QB Jaxson Dart, Edge Abdul Carter
Madelyn Burke, DT Darius Alexander
Edge Abdul Carter
QB Jaxson Dart, Edge Abdul Carter
DT Darius Alexander
Edge Abdul Carter
Edge Abdul Carter, Brian Daboll Head Coach
DL Darius Alexander
QB Jaxson Dart
Edge Abdul Carter
QB Jaxson Dart, Edge Abdul Carter
DT Darius Alexander
Edge Abdul Carter
Edge Abdul Carter
John K. Mara, Esq. President and Chief Executive Officer, Board Director, Joe Schoen Senior Vice President and General Manager, QB Jaxson Dart, Edge Abdul Carter, Brian Daboll Head Coach
DL Darius Alexander
Edge Abdul Carter, Joe Schoen Senior Vice President and General Manager
Edge Abdul Carter
QB Jaxson Dart, Edge Abdul Carter
DT Darius Alexander
Edge Abdul Carter, Joe Schoen Senior Vice President and General Manager
QB Jaxson Dart, Edge Abdul Carter
Carl Banks, Edge Abdul Carter
QB Jaxson Dart
Edge Abdul Carter
Carl Banks, Edge Abdul Carter
DT Darius Alexander
Edge Abdul Carter
Edge Abdul Carter
Carl Banks, Edge Abdul Carter
Edge Abdul Carter
Edge Abdul Carter
Edge Abdul Carter
Madelyn Burke, DT Darius Alexander
Edge Abdul Carter
Carl Banks, Edge Abdul Carter
Edge Abdul Carter
Edge Abdul Carter
Madelyn Burke, DT Darius Alexander
Edge Abdul Carter, Joe Schoen Senior Vice President and General Manager
Edge Abdul Carter
Edge Abdul Carter
Edge Abdul Carter
Edge Abdul Carter
Edge Abdul Carter
Edge Abdul Carter
In Carter, the Giants acquired whom many draft experts considered the top overall prospect regardless of position.
"Carter can take over and completely wreck an offensive game plan," NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah wrote in his scouting report. "He demands attention on every snap and that is going to free up everyone else around him."
"Everyone else" did pretty well before he arrived, so the prospect of his addition has defensive coaches giddy and opposing offensive staffs catching up on their sleep now while they still can.
Led by Lawrence, Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, the Giants finished tied for eighth in the NFL in sacks last season and tied for third in tackles for loss. At the same time, Carter posted 12 sacks in his final season at Penn State in addition to 23.5 tackles for loss, which led the nation and were third-most in school history.
"It's going to be dope just getting to know those guys as a person, getting to know them as men and then getting closer as teammates," Carter said on draft night. "And then once we get on the field together, just wreak havoc."
Twelve hours later, Carter was at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center and met Burns. He also received a welcome text from Thibodeaux, who isn't going anywhere.
Schoen announced Thursday night they were going to pick up the fifth-year option on the fifth overall pick in the 2022 draft.
"Kayvon is going to be here; we're excited to have him," Schoen said. "You can't have enough pass rushers. Between those guys coming off the edge, Dex in the middle, Nacho (Rakeem Nunez-Roches) , Roy Robertson-Harris, I'm excited about the D-line. We added (Jeremiah) Ledbetter, Chauncey Golston. So, we're turning the corner where there's some depth at some of these positions, and that will really help us. I'm excited about the group."
Schoen emphasized they are only in the first phase of the offseason workout program. Coach Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator Shane Bowen will get together to "figure out the creativity of how they're going to utilize the personnel."
One wrinkle is Carter's versatility. Like his fellow Penn State product Micah Parsons, Carter made the move from off-ball linebacker to edge rusher.
"He's a very intelligent player," Daboll said. "Again, once we get him here and he gets ingrained in our system and gets to be around all the guys, there's a long time here before we actually get going here."
Then they can forge an identity that has served the franchise well across eras.
"We were talking on the way down just in terms of adding dogs and a certain type of mentality," Schoen said after leaving the Draft Room. "I would say two years in a row with Malik's (Nabers) competitiveness and the toughness that he plays with, and then you add another guy like that in the first round like Abdul Carter and the motor he plays with and the toughness and the violence, that can really help. And the identity question was mentioned. That can help develop an identity, those type of players, and the more of those guys that you can acquire, the more that can come to life."
The New York Giants' 2025 offseason workout program is underway at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center.
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