The New York Giants made their biggest move of the offseason during the heart of free agency when they acquired edge rusher Brian Burns from the Carolina Panthers.
While the Giants let Saquon Barkley and Xavier McKinney sign elsewhere, general manager Joe Schoen executing the trade to acquire Burns showed the team is prioritizing premium positions as they continue to build the roster.
Burns joins a talented defensive front that includes both Kayvon Thibodeaux and Dexter Lawrence.
Tom Blair of NFL.com recently ranked the 10 traded players who will have the biggest impact with their new teams. Burns did crack the list, coming in at fourth overall.
TRADED BY: Carolina Panthers
TRADED FOR: 2024 second- and fifth-round picks, 2025 conditional fifth-round pick (with Carolina receiving a 2024 fifth-round pick)
I thought about slotting Burns at the top of this list, and maybe I should have. Of everyone in my top 10, he seems like the safest lock to play like a star for his new team in 2024. Unlike Allen and Diggs, the 26-year-old is still squarely in his prime, and unlike Jeudy, he’s a proven entity with a high floor. Burns has had a double-digit pressure rate every year of his career, per Next Gen Stats, and he should team with Kayvon Thibodeaux to boost a defense that finished 30th in pressure rate last season. The problem is, I could see Burns wrecking opponents this season and the Giants still stumbling because of offensive limitations. So, perhaps unfairly, he lands here, capped, in a way, by the lingering uncertainty around what Daniel Jones will bring to the table.
Burns playing with talent all around him may be the most significant reason that he is expected to have an impact in his first season in a Giants’ uniform.
Between Burns and Thibodeaux, the Giants should be able to rush the passer at ease. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Burns could have his best season given the upgrade in the talent around him.
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