Brian Burns Elevates Giants' Defensive Front to an Elite Level

Published: Monday, August 26, 2024

by Anthony Collins

The Giants built one of the most fearsome defensive fronts in football this offseason, landing superstar edge rusher Brian Burns in a blockbuster trade. The acquisition of a disruptive pass rusher like Burns could be the missing piece that helps this Giant's defensive line explode. Burns will team up with dominant nose tackle Dexter Lawrence, the highest-graded defensive player in the NFL, and line up on the opposite side of a promising young pass rusher in Kayvon Thibodeaux, coming off a double-digit sack season. 

This trio should excel in Shane Bowen's system, which relies on getting pressure from the defensive front, creating more one-on-one opportunities for Thibodeaux, Burns, and Lawrence. This new defensive scheme will allow them to showcase their elite pass-rushing skills with the goal of maximizing pressure on the quarterback. 

The Giant's defensive line will continue to operate through Dexter Lawrence, who’s the heart and soul of this defense. What makes Lawrence so special compared to other top defensive linemen is his willingness to draw attention to himself, forcing others to have to double-team him in the middle and creating opportunities for his teammates to make plays. Regardless of his unselfish playstyle, this doesn’t stop him from applying pressure to quarterbacks, having the highest pass-rush win rate and the most quarterback pressures out of all interior defenders last season. Lawrence is elite in both elements of his game, being dominant in rushing the passer and against the run. 

The 23-year-old pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux will look to build off his success from last season as he strives to live up to the expectations he had coming into the league as a top-five pick in the draft. Thibodeaux took a jump in his sophomore season in the NFL with 11.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles. Although he has not been the most consistent, having one of the worst pass rush win rates in the league last season, Thibodeaux is still a promising young star who is believed to take that next step in Year 3. This is due to the changes the Giants made to defense this offseason, one being a better scheme fit in Bowen’s new system, which provides him with more pass rush opportunities and less stress on dropping into coverage. Also, having a pass rusher like Burns on the opposite side of him this season will draw more attention to himself, taking enormous pressure off Thibodeaux, as he will rarely have to face double teams like he did before. 

Brian Burns will have to perform at an elite level to live up to the monster five-year, $141 million deal he signed with the Giants. In five seasons with Carolina, where he only missed three games, Burns recorded 46 sacks and 59 tackles for loss. Burns' ability to react off the line of scrimmage in the blink of an eye makes him such an imposing pass rusher. It’s his elite explosion that makes him so tough to block with a quick burst off the ball, making it too fast for offensive linemen to get their hands on him off the whistle. Although Burns plays in a league where the majority of pass rushers become too dependent on getting to the quarterback, he does an excellent job not letting himself over pursue the quarterback and give up on the run, being able to read where the ball is going on the play.

Given that these three combined for 81 pressures last season, this dangerous trio will look to wreak havoc on NFL offenses, as they are all capable of taking over a game at any given moment.

Anthony Collins can be reached at anthony.collins@student.shu.edu 

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