ESPN news: Giants’ two most influencial players reveals what the fans should expect from Giants.
In 2024, how strong of a pass rush can the New York Giants produce?
Although the majority of NFL observers believe the New York Giants will rank among the weakest teams in the league in 2024, there is a lot of hope on one specific side of the ball. The Giants invested more of their offseason funds to strengthen their offense after forcing more turnovers than any other defense in the NFL during the previous season. However, their most significant move was acquiring Brian Burns from the Carolina Panthers and signing him to a $150 million, five-year contract right away.
The New York Giants gave up a 2024 second round pick and a 2025 fifth round pick in exchange for the Panthers Pro Bowl edge rusher. This may have been a small price to pay if Burns joins Kayvon Thibodeaux to form one of the league’s best pass-rushing tandems right away.
After a lackluster rookie season, Thibodeaux—once considered one of the most highly anticipated edge rush prospects in college—rebounding last year with 11.5 sacks, the 12th-highest total in the league. However, Kayvon Thibodeaux believes that this is only the beginning. Thibodeaux recently made a lengthy visit on The Rich Eisen Show, where he discussed his high standards for both himself and his new partner.
“As I said before, I’m going for the record,” Thibodeaux remarked, alluding to the NFL record of 22.5 sacks shared by TJ Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Michael Strahan of the New York Giants. And guess what? If I don’t meet my goal, ideally I’ll be in the range of 15 to 20. But I have to strive to be the best at the end of the day.
Eisen then pointed out that Chris Doleman and Kevin Millard of the Minnesota Vikings combined for 39 sacks in 1989, setting a record for the most sacks in an NFL season for a pair of teammates. Undeterred, Thibodeaux called out the man in the midst of the Giants’ front while expressing confidence that he and Burns could have an equal influence.
“Yes, without a doubt. I’m not sure if you can fit three more people in there, but with Dex (Dexter Lawrence) in the center—I mean, really, the possibilities are endless.”
In the last two seasons, Burns has been selected to two Pro Bowls, while Dexter Lawrence has been named an All-Pro in each. Although Burns has amassed the 12th-most sacks in the league since 2019, Lawrence has likely been the greatest inside defender in the NFL the past several seasons excluding Aaron Donald. Dexter Lawrence was the interior defender with the highest grade from Pro Football Focus in 2023. Nevertheless, out of the three, Kayvon Thibodeaux might have the highest ceiling.
Following in the Giants’ footsteps
For the New York Giants, having a strong front is nothing out of the ordinary. Pass rushers are actually the position group that has been most closely associated with the Giants over the past three decades. Remember that Lawrence Taylor is regarded as one of the greatest defensive players of all time, position or none at all, and Michael Strahan leads the league in single-season sack leaders. However, Strahan and Taylor have both profited from playing next to other elite pass-rushers in the past.
Coworkers Leonard Marshall and Lawrence Taylor of the Giants were each listed in the top ten in sacks during the regular season in 1985 and 1986. During those two seasons, they combined for 28.5 and 33 sacks, respectively. Six years later, Osi Umenyiora and Jason Pierre-Paul combined for 25.5 sacks, while Strahan and Umenyiora combined for 26 sacks in 2005.
The G-Men have a history of dominating the NFL sack leaderboard, and with the roster they have heading into the 2024 season, it’s feasible they’ll do it again this year.
