The New York Giants know their traditional path to success is through their defense, most notably the pass rush.
The past decade the Giants have not had the level of success that they had enjoyed during their Super Bowl period and the results have been evident in the standings. They have had nine losing seasons over the past 11 years.
This season promises to be different. Kayvon Thibodeaux, the fifth overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft, is an ascending star. He is coming off an 11.5-sack second season and is poised for even greater success.
The Giants decided that Thibodeaux may not be enough to satisfy new defensive coordinator Shane Bowen’s system, so they traded for Carolina Panthers Pro Bowl edge rusher Brian Burns this past offseason.
Burns, a former first-round pick himself, has 46 sacks over his five-year NFL career and has never had less than 7.5 in a season.
The Giants now have a formidable duo that opponents will have to account for. “Pick your poison” is the message. You can’t stop them both.
Combined with All-World defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence in between them, the possibilities are limitless for the two. The Giants know this and plan to exploit the mismatches early and often in games.
#Giants Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux on what the addition of LB BRIAN BURNS will mean for this defense 💪😈
"He's bringing that ANIMAL attitude to the outside backers." @agentdexy97 @kayvont @Fire_Burns99 @heykayadams @Giants pic.twitter.com/jddYldH602
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) August 12, 2024
The plan is to keep both on the field as much as possible to keep the pressure on opposing offenses. With a defense that will be blitzing less and relying on its front four to apply pressure. The strategy will hinge on both players playing a ton of snaps.
That won’t be a problem for Thibodeaux or Burns, who rarely came off the field in 2023. From the New York Post:
Thibodeaux (86.8 percent of the defensive snaps playing under former Giants coordinator Wink Martindale) and Burns (82.8 percent in his 16 games playing for the Panthers) both ranked among the NFL’s top 18 edge rushers in total defensive snaps logged last season.
And when the duo needs to be spelled, the Giants have capable reserves in Boogie Basham and Azeez Ojulari. First-year outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen believes the Giants have more than ample resources to get four quarters of high-level play each week.
“The biggest thing is no drop-off,” Bullen told reporters recently. “If Burns or K.T. is tired, we have to get the next guy in. We have to have waves of fresh players. If you look at any of the great fronts over the years who have had consistent production, there is no drop-off. My push to all the non-starters is that the standard is the standard, and whoever is in there has to uphold it.”
Let the games begin, as they say.
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