Big Blue View
The New York Giants had little to cheer about throughout 2025, but the edge positiohn provided a spark to the dank swamp that was the Giants’ season. Veteran pass rusher Brian Burns finished second in the NFL with 16.5 sacks, only behind the Browns’ Myles Garrett, who broke Michael Strahan’s single-season sack record with 23. Rookie, third-overall-pick, Abdul Carter finished the season strong, after showing resiliency and overcoming his own immaturity issues.
New York finished with 39 sacks in 2025, which ranked 17th in the NFL. They had 45 in 2024 (9th in NFL) and 34 in 2023 (29th in NFL). Overall, the edge room was the Giants’ strength, but they were not perfect either. Let’s review the 2025 season.
Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Chauncey Golston, Tomon Fox, Victor Dimukeje
The Giants had three quality edge defenders in 2025: Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, and Kayvon Thibodeaux; those three accounted for 2,201 of the total 2,465 defensive snaps. Burns led the team with 863 snaps, and Carter had 844. Kayvon Thibodeaux sustained a shoulder injury in Week 10 against the Chicago Bears and eventually landed on the Injured Reserve; he played 494 snaps and finished with 32 pressures.
Thibodeaux’s presence and development were felt early in the season. He only had 2.5 sacks, but had a tackle for a loss in five of his first six games. Thibodeaux added 19 STOPs at the line of scrimmage, and he was robbed of a strip of Jalen Hurts on the infamous Tush Push play. His improvement as an overall football player was evident throughout the season, but it wasn’t consistent.
Finishing plays was still an issue for Thibodeaux, as he missed nine tackles in 2025 (29%). Now, to be fair, some of these missed tackles are high-effort plays from the backside that alter the running back’s path, but the point remains — need more well-rounded consistency from the 25-year-old EDGE rusher.
Thibodeaux missed time in 2024 as well. He finished with 324 pass-rushing snaps in 2025 and just 358 in 2024, finishing with 32 and 38 pressures, respectively. Thibodeaux has improved as a player, and he’s a good football player, but he hasn’t displayed the top-five pedigree that many Giants’ fans thought they were receiving when Joe Schoen selected him as such in 2022. Still, he’s an asset and one the Giants must make a decision about now that he enters next season on his fifth-year option.
Brian Burns is the heart and soul of the Giants’ roster. No player sets an example for others to emulate like Burns. He is a constant hustler who plays through nagging injuries, while being a necessary vocal leader that this defense desperately needs.
Burns had a career year with 16.5 sacks to go along with his 53 pressures; he now has 114 pressures in two seasons with the Giants. Burns was also an asset as a run defender, accounting for 42 STOPs, which is tied for a career high for Burns...
