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Giants Now: Bucky Brooks' 2026 All-Breakout Team (Defense)

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Bucky Brooks' 2026 All-Breakout Team (Defense)

With training camp right around the corner, the predictions for the 2026 season continue to roll in.

NFL.com's Bucky Brooks recently released his 11 defensive players "with serious breakout potential" this season. The list featured two Giants, starting with outside linebacker Abdul Carter.

"The third overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft was expected to take the league by storm as a freakishly athletic pass rusher with disruptive skills," wrote Brooks. "While Next Gen Stats credited Carter with 72 QB pressures -- including a league-best 48 quick pressures (occurring in under 2.5 seconds) -- his sack production was underwhelming, with just four on the season. I expect him to get home more often in 2026. Under new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, the Giants are preparing to unleash "organized chaos" via a quintet of rare athletes in the front seven: Carter, Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Arvell Reese and Tremaine Edmunds. Carter should see his numbers explode in Year 2 with plenty of one-on-one opportunities."

After a slow start to his rookie campaign, Carter got going towards the end of the 2025 season. The young outside linebacker picked up at least a half-sack in four consecutive games at the end of the year, which set a new franchise rookie record, with 3.5 total sacks during that span. He also picked up a minimum of four pressures in each of the final five contests, according to Pro Football Focus, accumulating a total of 28 pressures across that final stretch.

While his 48 quick pressures led the NFL, Carter's 72 total pressures ranked seventh in the league and only five behind Myles Garrett for sixth.

Carter wasn't the only member of the Giants' defensive front to make Brooks' list, as he was joined by second-year defensive lineman Darius Alexander.

"New York's trade of decorated defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to Cincinnati creates a huge opportunity for Alexander to flex his muscles as a disruptive force between the tackles," the analyst wrote. "The 2025 third-round pick not only has a clear path to a starting role, but Roy Robertson-Harris' season-ending injury will lead to more playmaking opportunities for the youngster on a sack-obsessed front line. After notching three sacks and three tackles for loss over his final six games in 2025, the 6-4, 310-pounder is primed for a breakout season as a key piece of the Giants' rejiggered defensive puzzle."

Coach John Harbaugh told the media during OTAs that there is still a chance Robertson-Harris is able to make it back onto the field towards the end of the season. But either way, Alexander has an opportunity to play a much bigger role on the defense this season.

The team's Week 18 matchup against the Cowboys was the first time Alexander played more than 58 percent of the team's defensive snaps in a game (80 percent). The expanded role led to the young lineman picking up a season-high four total tackles.

Similar to Carter, Alexander seemed to heat up in the latter part of the season. After totaling just a half-sack over his first 10 NFL games, the 6-foot-4, 310-pound lineman registered three sacks and had three games with 3+ total tackles over his final six contests. During that same span, the lineman recorded eight pressures, which topped his pressure total from the first 10 games (seven), according to Pro Football Focus.

View photos of the New York Giants' 2026 roster as it currently stands.

Take a look at rare photos of New York Giants training camps through the years.

Get ready for the 2026 season with photos from Media Day at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center.

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The Giants Foundation 5K & Kids Run

Bring your friends, family and neighbors out to run The Giants Foundation 5K Presented by Quest® on Sunday, November 8th and finish in the end zone at MetLife Stadium!

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