While most analysts around the NFL anticipate that the New York Giants could be among the league's worst teams in 2024, on one side of the ball in particular, there is plenty of optimism. Coming off of a season in which they forced more turnovers than any defense in the NFL, the Giants spent more of their offseason capital to bolster their offense, but their biggest move was in acquiring Brian Burns from the Carolina Panthers and promptly signing him to a 5-year deal worth $150 million.
To acquire the Panthers Pro Bowl edge rusher, the New York Giants parted ways with a 2024 2nd Round pick and a 2025 5th round pick, which could end up being a small price to pay if Burns comes to New York and immediately forms one of the best pass-rushing tandems in the league with Kayvon Thibodeaux.
Thibodeaux, who was once one of the most highly touted edge rush prospects in college, bounced back from a less-than-spectacular rookie season last year, notching 11.5 sacks, the 12th highest total in the league last year. But in the mind of Kayvon Thibodeaux, this is just the beginning. During a recent appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, Thibodeaux spoke at length on the lofty expectations he has for himself, and his new teammate.
“As I said before I'm going for the record,” Thibodeaux said, referencing the NFL record of 22.5 sacks, which is held by both New York Giants legend Michael Strahan and Pittsburgh Steelers star TJ Watt. “And guess what, if I fall short, hopefully I fall somewhere in that 15 to 20. But at the end of the day, I gotta try to be the best.”
From here, Eisen noted that the record for most sacks in an NFL season for a pair of teammates was set in 1989, when Minnesota Vikings teammates Chris Doleman and Kevin Millard combined for 39 sacks. Thibodeaux, undeterred, expressed confidence that he and Burns could be equally impactful, while also shouting out the man in the middle of the Giants' front.
“Yeah most definitely, and now I don't know if you can add three people, but with Dex (Dexter Lawrence) in the middle, I mean, come on, the sky's the limit.”
Dexter Lawrence has been named an All-Pro each of the last two seasons, and Burns has two Pro Bowl nods on his resume. While Burns' 46 sacks since 2019 are the 12th-most in the league over that span, Lawrence has been arguably the best interior defender in the NFL not named Aaron Donald the last few seasons. In 2023, Dexter Lawrence was Pro Football Focus' highest-graded interior defender. And yet it's Kayvon Thibodeaux who may have the highest ceiling of the three.
Walking in the footsteps of Giants
Having a dominant front is not abnormal for the New York Giants. In fact, if there's one position group that you could associate with the Giants over the last few decades, it's pass rusher. Consider that it's Michael Strahan who sits atop the league's list of single-season sack leaders, and it's Lawrence Taylor who is widely considered among the best defensive players ever, regardless of position. But historically, both Strahan and Taylor have benefited from playing alongside another top tier pass-rusher.
In both 1985 and 1986, Giants teammates Lawrence Taylor and Leonard Marshall were each ranked in the top ten in sacks during the regular season. They combined for 28.5 and 33 sacks respectively those two seasons. In 2005, Strahan and Osi Umenyiora combined for 26 sacks, and six years later, Umenyiora and Jason Pierre-Paul combined for 25.5 sacks.
Topping the NFL leaderboard in sacks is something of a tradition for the G-Men, and given the pieces they have in place heading into 2024 season, it's possible they could do the same this year.
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