Making the case: Shedeur Sanders vs. Abdul Carter

We are hours away from knowing who the New York Giants will select in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Nothing is exactly confirmed, but it appears likely that Miami quarterback Cam Ward will go number one overall to the Tennessee Titans. Browns general manager, Andrew Berry, recently praised Colorado WR/CB Travis Hunter and compared him to Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher/hitter Shohei Ohtani.

Cleveland’s selection at No. 2 overall remains a bit uncertain. Still, many believe Hunter will be the pick, leaving the Giants with three realistic options for the third overall selection: Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Penn State edge defender Abdul Carter, or a trade down situation. Of course, the Giants could select another quarterback or player they love at three overall, but that seems unlikely.

A trade down would make sense at the right price; but for the sake argument, let’s have the Giants stay at three and choose between Sanders or Carter. Here are my evaluations of their skill-sets:

Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado

Strengths

• Good posture in the pocket – maximizes measurables
• Very good footwork on dropback
• Sturdy and good balance in the pocket – solid overall composure
• Does well to maneuver and navigate within the pocket
• Keeps eyes downfield when pocket gets muddy
• Smoothly gets his body oriented in quick game
• Displayed excellent patience to wait for second/third window throws
• Good fluid OVER THE TOP throwing motion – effortless
• Smart quarterback with sound comprehension on how to attack defenses
• Intelligent pre-to-post snap work
• Plays well within play structure
• Plus asset in a short – rhythmic – passing attack
• Creative mind to improvise (lack of athletic ability and arm talent hold him back from maximizing this skill-set)
• Displayed good anticipation over the middle of the field (seam, DIG)
• Good overall touch and pacing over the MOF
• Understands how to throw between the numbers (timing, placement, touch, etc.)
• Hits the upfield shoulder of WRs on seam and skinny posts over the MOF
• Excellent timing on his passes
• Displayed quality touch and pacing in the red zone
• Solid overall accuracy
• Distributes the football well in the short-intermediate parts of the field
• Ran an NFL styled offense (Pat Shurmur)
• Very used to playing under pressure – stands tall in the pocket
• Takes massive hits and gets right back up
• Elite toughness

Weaknesses

• Slightly undersized
• Below-average athlete: speed, acceleration, and explosiveness
• Struggled to escape sacks in college (athletic & OL issues)
• OL was poor but developed a tendency to bail cleaner pockets
• Can drift in the pocket too often
• Devastating losses trying to escape sacks
• Tendency to burp the baby before releasing football
• Passes lack velocity
• Ball tends to float – lack of zip
• Below-average arm strength
• Deep passes tend to die in the air
• Accuracy wasn’t always pin-point – especially on short passes outside the numbers
• Lackluster off-platform thrower
• Had tendency to skip or low-ball short passes to his right or left
• Ran NFL concepts but operated mostly out of the shotgun

Shedeur Sanders is a high processing distributor who operates a quick rhythmic passing attack well, while possessing a creative knack that fails to be fully actualized due to suboptimal athletic ability and arm strength when off platform. Still, Sanders is mechanically sound and flashed WOW throws at each level of the field, albeit not always consistent. Sanders lacks elite physical gifts, but his overall arm talent is solid, especially over the middle of the field. A lack of elite zip and velocity is evident on his tape.

Sanders struggled to escape sacks at the collegiate level; that issue will be gravely exacerbated in the NFL. Yes, his offensive line was VERY POOR, but evading sacks against Big-12 defenders is much easier than NFL defenders, and Sanders tied for most sacks in the entire FBS. He’s not a terrible athlete but his athletic ability is not an asset to his game.

However, Sanders ability to navigate through muddy pockets, stand tall, and deliver strikes before getting hit is very impressive and a testament to his overall toughness, which is elite. Sanders does well targeting in-between the numbers with anticipation and ball placement. He does well to understand the defense pre-to-post snap while operating through NFL concepts in Pat Shurumr’s offense. He’s a quality decision maker who can keep an offense on script and can improvise.

There are a lot of reasons to appreciate Shedeur Sanders’ skills. Yet he does not have the tantalizing physical gifts possessed by many current high-level NFL quarterbacks. He can successfully operate an efficient passing attack predicated on processing and timing. He won’t thrive in every system, but an offense with a stable line that allows him to be the point guard, while efficiently attacking defenses can find success with a player like Shedeur Sanders.

Abdul Carter, edge, Penn State

Strengths

• Chiseled elite athlete with rare suddenness and explosiveness
• Rare agility and change of direction – gets very low into his rush
• Insane acceleration – smooth!
• Avoids contact well – is like NEO from the Matrix when rushing
• Urgent, Urgent, Urgent mover
• Amazing bend/control to contort his body while cornering up the arc
• Quick feet set OL up for failure – understands how to set OL up
• Can get very low with his rush – knee scraping the deck as he orients his hips into the pocket
• Rare ability to flatten at the top of the arc
• Does an excellent job absorbing contact up the arc
• Elite inside spin move assists his incredible burst up the arc – keeps OT honest
• Very good hand usage to keep distance and separate from OL
• Feet and hands work well together when rushing passer
• Beautiful dip/rip combination to win the edge with elite speed
• Flashed a variety of pass rushing moves
• Good overall play strength with excellent closing burst into contact
• Flashed power rush moves
• Insanely smart and natural pass rusher
• Understands how to angle his body and avoid contact while rushing
• Only played one true year at EDGE – upside is through the roof
• Can play all over the defensive front – was a very good LB in 2022/2023
• Solid overall run defender who still has room to improve (as LB/EDGE)
• Quick backside pursuit – immediate read defender
• Crashes the backside with authority – dangerous unblocked player
• Very aggressive style of play – good force into contact
• Solid coverage player with plenty of movement skills/fluidity to operate zone drops
• Controlled enough to handle man responsibilities if asked
• Very versatile player who can handle several aspects of front seven play
• Has room to grow into his frame
• Just turned 21 years old

Weaknesses

• Seems smaller than his listed size (some speculate he’s sub-235)
• Not the longest EDGE
• Still a little raw as an EDGE rusher
• Can run himself out of fit, trying to win up the arc
• Has good overall play strength but it can be thwarted by long/strong and technically sound offensive tackles
• Misses a lot of tackles – 19.1% missed tackle rate in college
• 2023 tape showed mistakes at LB – is not a technically sound run defender at the EDGE or LB
• Could work on tackling fundamentals to become more secure
• Not a bad run defender but is clearly more of a pass rusher
• Needs more time learning how to anchor vs. the run/recognize rushing schemes
• Deconstructing blocks once engaged in base situations needs to improve vs. the run
• Relies heavily on impressive movement skills to avoid lock up with OTs vs. the run
• Was charged with a misdemeanor for assaulting a tow truck driver in 2024

There are few players in recent NFL drafts who have the type of pass rushing upside as Abdul Carter, which is one of the many reasons why he’s compared to Micah Parsons, among the obvious ones. Carter is an insanely sudden and quick athlete with a NEO like ability to avoid contact and contort his body around the punches of offensive tackles. Carter keeps forward momentum with elite control while exploding up the rushing arc. Few players win high side like Carter, and even fewer use their feet/hands so well together.

He gets his hips oriented into the pocket so fast and gets so low to avoid contact; when he is contacted, he does a good job staying balanced or angling his body to mitigate the strength of the contact. Carter is DANGEROUS in a phone booth, with a sensational inside spin move and rare speed to win through either shoulder. He also flashes power rush moves, albeit he’s more finesse right now. BUT his finesse is so fantastic, that offensive lineman are more susceptible to the power he does possess, for their ability to frame and engage Carter are hindered by his raw talent.

Carter will be selected as an edge to rush the passer and use his elite physical traits. He does offer value as a linebacker for a creative defensive coordinator; his best utilization as a LB is stacked, allowing him to scrape/flow to the football relatively unscathed. His eyes/ability to trigger are accentuated by his elite burst, albeit he’s still wild and did misjudge his path into the backfield as a linebacker prior to 2024.

I don’t want to say Carter is fool-proof, even though I love his tape and ability. There’s a non-zero chance that Carter may be targeted on early downs and could be exposed against better – more physical – teams in the trenches. On the flip side, he has room to grow into his body, he’s insanely athletic, and he only has one year as an edge. Sure, a defensive coordinator may have to get creative if Carter struggles to consistently defend the run, but his run defense ability in college doesn’t suggest a liability, just not a certainty; and his pass rushing skills are through the roof. It’s something to acknowledge, but not a deal breaker by any means.

If Carter works on his block shedding ability and his eyes to perceive the offensive intentions, along with adding some strength, he will be a massive asset as a run defender; and these are achievable feats considering the traits Carter possesses. There aren’t many players in consideration for the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but Carter is one of them and it’s easy to see why.

Thoughts

I want the Giants to locate and draft their quarterback of the future. A player who would give the Giants a chance at consistently competing for a Super Bowl — year in and year out. A player with quality traits and a high ceiling with the potential of being one of the top quarterbacks in the league. If the Giants were to go quarterback at three, I want someone who they win because of, and not JUST based on the infrastructure around the player — I’m not sold that Sanders fits this criteria.

In this scenario, the cost of going with Sanders at three is passing on a possible blue-chip talent in Abdul Carter, who recorded 66 pressures in his lone season at edge. Carter has rare athletic traits (burst, bend, and balance). Carter possesses the upside to be one of the top edge defenders in the game, and will step onto the field as a dynamic pass-rusher.

The combination of Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Abdul Carter would be the most feared four-man pass rush in the NFL. As Ernie Accorsi stated, “you can never have too many pass rushers.” The former Giants’ general manager was correct. I would take Carter over Sanders.

Poll

Who would you take at three overall

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  Shedeur Sanders

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  Abdul Carter

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