New York Giants rookie Abdul Carter has not exactly made a great first impression.
When the New York Giants selected Abdul Carter with the third overall pick of the NFL Draft, they thought they were getting a generational talent who could potentially take the league by storm right away.
While it's still possible that Carter is a generational talent with the potential to dominate down the road, the ship has sailed on the latter.
The Penn State product has logged just a half of a sack thus far during his rookie campaign, and that came all the way back in Week 1. Carter also went six straight games without a quarterback hit before finally having one against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
Carter's analytics look good, as he has posted a 76.4 pass-rushing grade at Pro Football Focus and has totaled 26 hurries, but the actual production just hasn't been there.
And to make matters worse, Carter has apparently been late to team meetings throughout the season before interim head coach Mike Kafka finally put a stop to it this past week.
That was why Carter was not on the field for the Giants' first defensive series of the game versus the Packers, which has led to the 22-year-old trying to explain himself on social media.
Regardless of the reason, this is obviously not a good look for the first-year edge rusher, especially considering it has been a recurring theme throughout the campaign.
Apparently, former head coach Brian Daboll had been letting Carter's tardiness slide. I guess Daboll felt the first-round pick deserved special treatment, and that was part of what made Daboll's stint in New York such a disaster.
But now, it's on Carter to adjust his behavior and to start taking things more seriously.
Carter has not done nearly enough to be exhibiting this type of attitude. It's never okay no matter who you are, but when a rookie with a half of a sack does it, it's even more indefensible.
I still believe that Carter could develop into a terrific player in this league, but let's be real: he has shown very little outside of a few flashes here and there in 2025.
Giants legend Tiki Barber called out Carter for being a "one-trick pony" following the loss to Green Bay, noting that he only has one move to get past offensive linemen. While I don't necessarily agree with that, it largely speaks to how Carter is currently viewed by some in the Big Apple.
Hopefully, Carter starts actually showing up on time and then starts putting together legitimate results on the field. It's growing tiresome seeing people citing his peripheral numbers as a be-all-end-all when there are clearly bigger problems at hand with the rookie.