Giants edge rusher knows he must take another step in his third season

After making significant strides in his second NFL season, Giants edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux has his sights set on taking yet another leap in 2024.

Thibodeaux, the fifth overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, flashed upside as a rookie but only racked up 49 tackles, including six for a loss, and four sacks. Although he started and ended 2023 sluggishly, Thibodeaux finished the year with 11.5 sacks, the 12th-most in the NFL.

Now back in East Rutherford for his third year of organized team activities, Thibodeaux recently told reporters he's doing "everything" he can to "take that next step" toward greatness. 

“Last year I was able to get 11 and a half sacks,” Thibodeaux said, via Pro Football Talk's Josh Alper. “Those are the accolades. Now it’s about getting that respect throughout the league, having teams fear coming to play against us. Just taking everything I do to the next level as far as that extra. Greatness is optional. I just got to kind of take that next step.”

Prior to Thursday's OTAs session, Thibodeaux also made it clear that "every year" he's with the Giants, he's gunning for his mentor and Giants legend Michael Strahan's single-season sack record of 22.5. While no player has yet to top Strahan's impressive feat, it's worth noting that Steelers LB T.J. Watt tied the record during the 2021 season. 

Despite his confidence and last season's increased production, Thibodeaux has a long way to go before he can be considered one of the NFL's top edge-rushers and have a chance to break the single-season sack record.

As mentioned, Thibodeaux struggled to maintain consistency last season. Not only did he go his first two games of the season without a sack, but he also failed to collect one across his final four games. 

During those six games, Thibodeaux made just five solo tackles, three of which came in New York's 27-10 Week 18 win over Philadelphia. 

Additionally, Thibodeaux's underlying metrics from last season show that he wasn't nearly as dominant as his sack total suggests. According to Pro Football Focus, Thibodeaux posted a 6.4 pass-rush win rate in 2023, ranking 101st among all qualified edge-rushers. 

The total was also substantially lower than the 9.7 pass-rush win rate he posted as a rookie, which would've still only ranked 77th among edges this past season.

Nonetheless, considering the Giants are implementing a different scheme under new DC Shane Bowen and the team added two-time Pro Bowl edge-rusher Brian Burns earlier this offseason, Thibodeaux is well-positioned to continue his ascent.