NY Giants 2025 Training Camp Preview: An Abundance of Riches at Outside Linebackers

The New York Giants roster was hardly the apple of any general manager’s eye last season, and Joe Schoen knew he’d need to execute a massive makeover to put the team in a better position to succeed ahead of a critical season in 2025.

That is, except for one position group that already seemed to have something special brewing: the outside linebackers.

Amid a miserable 3-14 campaign that had its flaws on both sides of the field, the unit was one of the rare bright spots that, if healthy, proved they have something to offer the Giants’ quest for relevance again.

While they, like the entire defensive line, weren’t spared from the injury bug last season, the edge rusher group became the heart of the Giants’ defensive attack and catapulted them into one of the respectable pass rushing teams in the NFL.

Led by the veteran duo of Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, New York finished sixth in pass rush grade and sacks with 45 total, trailing only the Cowboys and Vikings in the NFC.

As the rest of the league began to take notice of the Giants’ presence on the defensive front, it quickly became one of the main focal points of the offseason. They would work hard to fix the offense, but Schoen and the front office would be big spenders in free agency and the draft to further fortify their pass rush and run defense identity.

Part of that plan included selecting Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter with the No. 3 pick in the NFL Draft. Grabbing Carter enables them to add one extra piece into an already powerful bunch that will create real havoc for the opposing offense.

By adding Carter, he creates a serious competition this summer for starting work in the outside linebacker position. On the other hand, the rookie edge rusher has a history of versatility, which could come in handy in getting all the pieces on the field at the same time at certain points.

Can defensive coordinator Shane Bowen come up with defensive packages that get the most out of the group as they look to be one of the most potent pass rushing operations in the league?

And can the Giants' entire defense make plays on early downs to enable an all-out feast on the quarterback at the biggest moments of games?

New York Giants outside linebacker Brian Burns — Jun 18, 2025; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants linebacker Brian Burns (0) warms up during minicamp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. | John Jones-Imagn Images

Rostered Players

Brian Burns: The Giants' big offseason acquisition last spring, who they believed would serve as the base for their pass rushing attack, Burns muscled through a series of injuries to play every snap. Burns, the seventh-year veteran, logged his fifth straight season with at least eight sacks (8.5), while making 71 tackles, eight pass deflections, and two forced fumbles.

Kayvon Thibodeaux: One of the Giants’ 2022 first-round picks, he needs to have a strong season in what is essentially a contract year. He fell to 5.5 sacks and 28 tackles in 12 games last season after tallying a career-high 11.5 and being fully healthy in 2023. He will likely be competing for starting reps with rookie teammate Abdul Carter in camp.

Abdul Carter: Depending on who you asked, Carter was tabbed as the most talented prospect in the 2025 draft class. The 21-year-old is versatile and can be plugged in on the edge as well as on the defensive front. He finished fifth in the nation with a career-high 12 sacks to go along with 52 total pressures, 31 tackles, and a 92.4 pass rush grade in 12 games with Penn State.

Chauncey Golston: One of the veteran free agent signings made by Joe Schoen to bolster the defensive line after four seasons with the Cowboys, Golston is primarily a three-point player, but he has experience standing up. He posted a career-high seven sacks and 37 overall pressures in a total of 790 snaps last season.

Tomon Fox: A third-year undrafted player in the Giants’ system who has contributed to both the defense and special teams. He contributed snaps in the latter on the return and coverage teams to combine for 203 snaps last season. He has been buried on the depth chart of late, and has only had 14 tackles in 11 games on the edge.

Trace Ford: An undrafted free agent from Oklahoma, he could compete for a spot on the practice squad this summer. Ford saw 300 snaps with the Sooners last season, notching 11 tackles, three sacks, and an 80.3 pass rush grade.

Victor Dimukeje:A former sixth-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals, who was signed in the offseason to provide additional veteran talent in the position group, unfortunately, he suffered a pectoral muscle injury in the early stages of the offseason program and is slated to go onto the PUP list ahead of the season.

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Biggest Unanswered Question

How can the Giants deploy Abdul Carter?

The Giants find themselves in a special predicament of having three very talented edge rushers with proven career resumes on their roster. The good news is that with Abdul Carter being the latest player to join the position group, he might just be the most special athlete among them all.

The challenge facing Bowen lies in the fact that there are only two starting outside linebacker spots on the football field, and those would seem to belong to the team’s two incumbents, Burns and Thibodeaux. Burns was the Giants' best pass rusher outside of Dexter Lawrence, and is guaranteed to be on the field for almost every defensive snap.

Meanwhile, Thibodeaux, whose fifth-year option was recently picked up by the Giants, is in a situation that demands he see the field to start the season, as the franchise needs to determine if they can commit to him long term as a consistent weapon on the edge.

So how would Carter fit into that multifaceted puzzle with the Giants, given he also is expected to contribute from the jump due to where he was picked in the first round?

It’s more than likely that the answer lies in Carter taking some of his reps from an interior defender position.

That area was where he began his collegiate career at Penn State before transitioning to primarily an off-ball linebacker in his senior season, during which he emerged as one of the best sack artists in the entire country.

The Giants could especially look to do this on third-down and long scenarios, where they can ratchet up the pressure with multiple rushers to finish the opposing drive.

Burns and Thibodeaux would earn the one-on-one matchups on the edges, and with Dexter Lawrence drawing extra attention up front, it leaves Carter with his own potential solo chess match that he often wins with his unique pass rushing instincts and mobility.

Having that look could also be useful for putting Carter into run defense situations. The novice was his school’s highest graded run defender last season (73.8) and has notched at least 31 stops in each of his three seasons there. His missed tackle could go down a smidge, but he doesn’t whiff on a ton of them.

There will be times when Thibodeaux or Burns need a breather, and Carter will step into the traditional edge rusher role and do his thing. Still, if the Giants want to take advantage of all their star pieces at the same time, it’s going to take creativity that rides off of Carter’s versatility on the gridiron.

Training Camp Battle to Watch

Tomon Fox vs Trace Ford for a potential practice squad spot

With the Giants now having four players in the outside linebacker position group that they can devote to the defensive workload, that leaves them one final spot that could be devoted to tagging a fifth guy for a practice squad spot during the 2025 season.

Given Victor Dimukeje might be headed to the PUP list with his injury, it turns the competition over to the incumbent Tomon Fox and undrafted free agent Trace Ford to see who hangs around East Rutherford for the journey or the event of midseason injuries.

Fox already has some blood in the ground from his three seasons in New York, where he has been nestled in the position’s depth chart but held more of a special-teams role. Last year, he played in 11 games for the Giants, making 14 tackles and one sack in 207 defensive snaps, while seeing nearly the same number of reps in both punt and kick units.

In those latter reps, Fox was decent with a 59.0 PFF grade and only one missed tackle. His competitor at Ford doesn’t have as much equity built up in the third realm of the game, but showed better pass-rushing upside as a member of the Oklahoma Sooners, where he had 11 sacks and 106 total pressures in five years.

The decision could come down to whether the Giants prefer comfort in their ranks or are feeling bold enough to take a chance on an underrated player. It’s well noted that Fox has only been available for 12 games in the last two seasons, meaning any setbacks this summer could cost him a spot on the practice squad.

New York Giants rookie outside linebacker Abdul Carter — New York Giants linebacker Abdul Carter | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Training Camp Position Grade: A

As the Giants head to training camp, there is no doubt that the outside linebackers position is going to be one of the major spark plugs of the team and that is bringing a lot of excitement back to the fans who remember how dominant the Giants were when they had an impactful defensive front.

Joe Schoen poured a lot of resources into the entire defense, but it’s expected to be led by the production of the pieces up front, who are set to get after the quarterback with the best of them.

It is hard to get overhyped from things that happen in spring practices with little to no contact allowed, but from what has been seen, this unit looks primed and ready to create chaos and confusion that will often stifle opposing teams.

The key to their overall impact will be health, as the Giants' key players started to drop out during the season, and with them went the efficacy of their pass rush, which was poised to finish in the top 10 of the league and ultimately finished in the top 15.

Early 53-Man Roster Predictions

Starters: Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux
Backups: Abdul Carter, Chauncey Golston
Practice Squad: Tomon Fox
Cut: Trace Ford

Naming starters for this position group is a piece of cake, as Burns and Thibodeaux are two heavily invested players for the Giants, not to feature them in a dynamic trio with Dexter Lawrence manning the middle at nose tackle.

After them, Abdul Carter and Chauncey Golston, the latter of whom will mainly see reps as a defensive end, will likely see a healthy dose of snaps, albeit not necessarily the very first snap of the game (or the start).

Both of their versatile skill sets could help them see a starter-esque number of reps as the Giants fiddle with different combinations for the pass rush and run response.

Lastly, we think in a close competition for a practice squad role, the Giants fall back on their familiarity with Tomon Fox to retain his place for depth and services in the special teams department.