The New York Giants upped the stakes for their pass rush this offseason when they traded for Pro Bowl edge rusher Brian Burns.
Burns is expected to team with former first-round pick Kayvon Thibodeaux to revive the Giants’ sagging pass rush, which was near the bottom of the league last season.
Thibodeaux had 11.5 sacks in 2023, up from four in his rookie season of 2022. This year, he intends to see his sack total — along with other aspects of his game — improve exponentially.
“Greatness, nothing less,” Thibodeaux told reporters on Tuesday when asked what he expects of himself going forward.
“I feel like that’s going to be something you guys hear from me every year, every time you ask me, just because we work too hard, and we’ve done so much to get here that now we’re too deep in it to turn back now. So, this is going to continue to strive for greatness, and whatever that looks like in my career, I’ve got to be happy with it and the work I put in at the end of the day.”
The Giants have committed to other first-round picks after three seasons with long-term contract extensions. Thibodeaux was asked his thoughts about a possible upcoming payday.
“When I was younger, my mom told me, you hang out with three clowns, you’ll be the fourth. So, you hang out with three rich guys: you’ll be the fourth,” Thibodeaux said with a laugh. “So, I’m just going to keep working, man. The lights and everything are ahead. Right now, I just got to keep my head down, keep tunnel vision, and understand that there’s no greater way I can affect my future other than the work I put in on the field.”
Thibodeaux lauded Pro Bowl defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence as a monster in the middle and spoke about his competition with Burns.
“Every time a drive goes out, we try to give us a little edge to go make a play,” he said. “So, I think it was that last call period where I just told him, ‘Whoever gets the first sack, the other person got to do some push-ups.'”
He also spoke about Burns’ toughness and dedication. Burns incurred an ankle injury on Monday but was back on the field on Tuesday.
“I would say, in old school football, yeah,” Thibodeaux said. “It sets a tone, like, I’ll play through every injury. But I think for him it’s just balancing.”
