The New York Giants may not be Super Bowl contenders in 2025, but there is one elite aspect of this team that will strike fear into its opposing offenses on a weekly basis: the pass rush.
Headlined by Brian Burns, first-round pick Abdul Carter, Dexter Lawrence, and Kayvon Thibodeaux, the Giants are a very real contender to lead the NFL in sacks in 2025.
Pro Football Focus, the sport’s analytics powerhouse, agrees and named Big Blue’s pass rush as the team’s reason for optimism this season.
“Led by superstar defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and edge rushers Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, the Giants ranked seventh in the NFL in PFF pass-rush grade,”PFF’s Dalton Wasserman wrote. “In addition to that excellent group, the team added Penn State’s Abdul Carter with the third-overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
“Carter earned an elite 92.4 PFF pass-rush grade while accruing 66 pressures and 13 sacks last season. He and third-round pick Darius Alexander should bolster New York’s defensive line in a big way.”
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While Carter is the rookie of the bunch, he has the highest upside of any Giants pass rusher since Lawrence Taylor. And, yes, I know it’s a slippery slope to compare any Giants player to LT, but that’s the kind of talent Carter possesses. And the fact that he’s likely to face one-on-one blocking assignments on a per-down basis all season is downright scary. The former Penn State star should surpass double-digit sacks as a rookie and run away with the Defensive Rookie of the Year award.
The Giants rookie sack record is 9.5 sacks, held by Lawrence Taylor.
Can Abdul Carter set a new record? pic.twitter.com/jVFwDKHfRq
— Giants 366 (@Giants366) June 10, 2025
If there’s any wild card in this group, it’s Thibodeaux. Despite GM Joe Schoen exercising the fifth-year option in the former first-rounder’s contract, his long-term outlook with the Giants remains murky. It’s unlikely he’ll get a massive contract extension, which could make the 2025 season his final one in New York.
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