The Giants are a lesser team (just 3-14 last year). But they do have that that nice pass rush. They had 35 sacks at the halfway point of last year (before falling apart, with just 10 sacks the rest of the way). Now they’ve added another guy who can get after the quarterback. At No. 3 overall, they were locked onto whichever one of the top 3 prospects was left – Cam Ward, Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter.
The Giants already have one of the league’s very best defensive tackles, Dexter Lawrence (who had 9 sacks last year). They also got 8.5 sacks last year out of Brian Burns.
Carter comes out of Penn State looking like he might be able to do some of like the worst team in their own division. But they’ll be causing some problems for some teams on some Sundays.
How much difference can one player make? Well, we can look at previous rookies. Below see the list of all rookies selected with top-10 picks in the last 10 years who’ve had multiple sacks in their first year. Of the 13 who had at least 5 sacks, all but one of those teams finished with more sacks.
If we set aside Jalen Carter (with the Eagles inexplicably finishing with 27 fewer sacks in 2023), then the other 12 teams at the top of the list below finished with an average of 7 more sacks.
I’m think the Giants will finish with top-10 pass rush numbers. (About 7 sacks seems like a fair (perhaps conservative) over-under for Carter.)
The Browns also selected a defensive lineman with a top-5 pick – Mason Graham. But he’s a tackle – making them stouter inside but not necessarily getting to the quarterback much. Graham finished with 2.5, 3 and 3.5 sacks in his three seasons at Michigan.
| TOP-10 PICKS WITH DOUBLE-DIGIT SACKS (last 10 yrs) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Pos | Round | Sk | Team | Diff |
| 2018 | OLB | Bradley Chubb, Den. | 12 | 44 | 11 |
| 2019 | LB | Josh Hines-Allen, Jac. | 10.5 | 47 | 10 |
| 2016 | DE | Joey Bosa, S.D. | 10.5 | 35 | 3 |
| 2022 | DE | Aidan Hutchinson, Det. | 9.5 | 39 | 9 |
| 2019 | DE | Nick Bosa, S.F. | 9 | 48 | 11 |
| 2020 | DE | Chase Young, Was. | 7.5 | 47 | 1 |
| 2017 | DE | Myles Garrett, Cle. | 7 | 34 | 8 |
| 2023 | DE | Will Anderson, Hou. | 7 | 46 | 7 |
| 2016 | OLB | Leonard Floyd, Chi. | 7 | 37 | 2 |
| 2016 | DE | DeForest Buckner, S.F. | 6 | 33 | 5 |
| 2023 | DT | • Jalen Carter, Phil. | 6 | 43 | -27 |
| 2019 | DT | Ed Oliver, Buff. | 5 | 44 | 8 |
| 2018 | ILB | Roquan Smith, Chi. | 5 | 50 | 8 |
| 2019 | DE | Clelin Ferrell, Oak. | 4.5 | 32 | 19 |
| 2022 | OLB | Kayvon Thibodeaux, NYG | 4 | 41 | 7 |
| 2015 | DE | • Vic Beasley, Atl. | 4 | 19 | -3 |
| 2023 | DE | Tyree Wilson, L.V. | 3.5 | 46 | 6 |
| 2022 | OLB | Travon Walker, Jac. | 3.5 | 35 | 3 |
| 2017 | DE | • Solomon Thomas, S.F. | 3 | 30 | -3 |
| 2015 | DE | • Leonard Williams, NYJ | 3 | 39 | -6 |
| 2019 | ILB | Devin White, T.B. | 2.5 | 47 | 9 |
| 2019 | DT | • Quinnen Williams, NYJ | 2.5 | 35 | -4 |
| 2020 | DT | • Derrick Brown, Car. | 2 | 29 | -24 |
| 2025 | DE | Abdul Carter, NYG | ? | ? | ? |
| 2025 | DT | Mason Graham, Cle. | ? | ? | ? |
—Ian Allan