Big Blue must do better on defense overall. Although Brian Burns leads the NFL with 11 sacks, the closest Giant is Kayvon Thibodeaux with 2.5. New York has been picked apart and is now allowing an average of 27.6 points and 382.1 yards per game, respectively, good for 28th and 29th in the NFL.
The first pass rusher selected in the 2025 draft, Carter, an All-American and the 2024 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year at Penn State, was supposed to form an impossible trio to compensate with Burns and Thibodeaux. He entered the NFL after a season in which he totaled 12 sacks and led the FBS with 23.5 tackles for loss.
So far, he has 0.5 sacks – recorded in the season opener – and one tackle for loss. Since throwing five quarterbacks in Week 4 against the Chargers to bring his season total to eight, he has failed to touch a QB. He has also struggled at times with spacing and keeping the run.
There simply hasn’t been much to highlight in the statistical paper.
“It’s been a learning process,” Carter said. “I take more responsibility for myself.”
However, Carter has still shown the infidelity he is known for. The results haven’t been there, but with his engine and pressure creation, it looks like the dam will surely break at some point soon.
Carter has 34 quarterback pressures, according to Next Gen Stats, tied for ninth with Myles Garrett of the Browns, and his 20 rushing pressures (under three seconds) are tied for third.
Of the 10 defensive backs with 34 or more pressures this season, the players with the fewest sacks by 0.5 are Carter George Karlaftis (38 pressures) and the Colts’ Laiatu Latu (35), who both have five.
And while Carter didn’t generate pressure at the same rate as the top guys in the league, his 13.7% pressure rate is actually higher than his teammate Burns’ 12.6%.
He puts pressure on callers and opens up opportunities for others, he’s just been unlucky to get home.
In a year that will be all about growth for the Giants, Carter appears to be on the verge of breaking through.
He certainly has the right mindset to make it happen.