Brian Burns: Opposing Teams Must 'Pick Their Poison' vs. NY Giants Pass Rush

If you thought that last season’s New York Giants pass rush, which finished ninth in the league with 45 sacks for 289 yards lost, was something special, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

So hints outside linebacker Brian Burns, who in his first season with the team contributed 8.5  and minus 77 yards of that Giants team total. 

Burns, during an interview with John Schmeelk for the team’s Giants Huddle podcast, believes the pass rush is going to be even more lethal this season if everyone is healthy.

“You’ve got to pick your poison in a sense because Dex (defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence) is a non-negotiable,” Burns said. 

“You have to put four hands on him regardless. You can chip the edges, that’s perfectly fine as well, but somebody’s going to have a one-on-one, and with the talent that we have on this d-line, and in this room, I see us winning in multiple ways.”

Last season, both Burns and fellow outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux placed in the top 20 of ESPN’s pass-rush win rate rankings, Burns placing fourth (23%) and Thibodeaux placing 16th (17%).

Lawrence didn’t place in the top 20 among interior defensive linemen, but he also had his season cut short due to a dislocated elbow injury. Before suffering the injury, Lawrence had at one point led defenders with 9.0 sacks, despite seeing a high number of double-team blocks.

This past offseason, the Giants added veteran defensive lineman Chauncey Golston in free agency from Dallas. Golston set new career highs in total quarterback pressures (18), sacks (5.5), tackles (56), and quarterback hits (8) last season, thanks in part to a huge increase in his defensive snaps, in which he logged a career high 791 defensive snaps. 

Then there is the addition of rookie edge rusher Abdul Carter, whom the Giants landed with the third overall pick in this year’s draft. Carter, a 2024 All-American and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, finished last season as the conference’s leader in sacks (12) and tackles for loss (24).

Those additions, plus other tweaks that defensive coordinator Shane Bowen might have up his sleeve to further make life miserable for opposing quarterbacks, have many people very intrigued over just how good this Giants pass rush can be if everyone stays healthy.

What happens next with the NY Giants? Find out! Follow and like us on Facebook. Visit our YouTube channelfor the latest videos. Want to send a question in for our mailbag? You can do so here.