Giants Edge Rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux Named to Second-Team All-Under 25 Defensive List

Thibodeaux is among the young, rising defensive stars in the game today.

Jul 26, 2024; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) speaks on the sideline during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. | Lucas Boland-USA TODAY Sports

New York Giants outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux is only 23 years old, but he’s already put two NFL seasons in the books in which he’s recorded 15.5 sacks, 29 quarterback hits, 99 tackles, nine pass breakups, and five forced fumbles in 31 games played (31 starts).

With his star continuing to rise, Thibodeaux was named to the second-team All-Under 25 Defense by CBS Sports.

“He's had a good camp,” head coach Brian Daboll said recently. “I think that his pass rush has evolved. I think he's practicing at a good tempo, and a good speed. You notice him out there. He's been pretty consistent with everything that we've asked him to do”

Thibodeaux logged a career-high 11.5 sacks last year, doing so with a 5.6 percent pass-rush win rate, which, per Pro Football Focus, was the third-worst PRWR among 55 qualified edge rushers with at least 300 pass-rushing snaps.

But of his 11.5 sacks, which tied him for fourth-most among NFL linebackers, Thibodedaux logged four of those sacks in the fourth quarter of games last season, tying him for fifth-most among NFL linebackers in the games’ final quarter of play.

With the addition of Brian Burns to a lineup that also includes defensive lineman Deter Lawrence up front, the Giants have created a pick-your-poison scenario that could free Thibodeaux up to have a chance at his goal of breaking Giants Hall of Fame defensive end Michael Strahan’s single-season sack record.

Thibodeaux is excited about that possibility.

"When you have two rushers that can at the base, just hold down their sides and create a pocket that's hard for the quarterback to throw out of. It helps the back end; the back end helps the front end," he said.

"One of the coaches--he likes to say ‘symbiosis.’ There are multiple parts working together for the greater good, but just helping each other. And I said whether it's communication or moves since we've been playing together, I've added something to his game. He's added something to my game. It's been a real kind of growth mentality."