Big Blue View
New York Giants edge defender Brian Burns has been selected as the ninth-best edge pass rusher in the NFL by ESPN.
ESPN said:
Burns put it all together in Year 7, finishing second in the league with 16.5 sacks on his way to a second-team All-Pro nod. The sack total was the highest by a Giants player since Jason Pierre-Paul in 2011.
BBV’s Chris Pflum was not thrilled that Burns was that low on the list. He wrote:
Someone go put this on Burns’ locker, because it’s about as disrespectful as a “Yo Momma” joke.
Let us know if you agree with Chris.
Now, let’s get to more Giants headlines.
A lot of whether the Giants’ offensive line can take a leap and garner the level of respect the OG O-line did back in the day – beyond the Super Bowl, of course – will depend on Schmitz’s chances of finally breaking out as a solid and consistent piece in the middle. Also, left guard Jon Runyan can answer criticism and step up as more of a physical presence than he has been given credit for, avoiding questions of being a possible salary cap casualty later this summer.
Health. Execution. Talent. Continuity. The 2007 Giants proved they had all those factors up front. If the 2026 Giants can do that while playing the physical brand of “bully” football Harbaugh desires, this offensive line won’t be answering to the same questions that have dogged this franchise for more than a decade.
Darius Alexander, DT. The departure of Dexter Lawrence II creates quite the black hole in the Giants’ defensive tackle rotation — one far too big for DJ Reader to fill himself. Alexander started his college career on the offensive line, so he was always projected for more 2026 impact than 2025. Still, he had three sacks and three tackles for loss over the last six games of his rookie season.
It’s important to say that Alexander is not a Lawrence replacement at all. Lawrence is a squatty nose tackle with run-stopping prowess; Alexander is long and linear and wants to play upfield. Reader and Shelby Harris will do more of the yeoman’s work on early downs, but Alexander is an important player in pass-rush situations. For as deep and dangerous as the Giants’ room of edge rushers is, quarterbacks will far too easily climb the pocket without an interior presence. It actually helps Alexander that he’s so stylistically different from Lawrence, as he should avoid unfair one-to-one comparisons this season.
Offensive Player of the Year: Malik Nabers, New York Giants. Despite Nabers’ bursting onto the scene with...
