PFF Ranked the Giants' Defensive Line 21st — Their Own Numbers Tell a Different Story

The New York Giants have invested more into their defensive line than any other position group in recent years. They spent first-round draft picks on Kayvon Thibodeaux and Abdul Carter, traded a second-round pick for Brian Burns, and signed multiple veteran interior defensive linemen in free agency.

According to Pro Football Focus, it's still not enough. PFF writer Gordon McGuinness recently ranked the defensive lines of every NFL team. He put the Giants at No. 21.

McGuinness said, "Abdul Carter established himself as a high-end pass rusher as a rookie, earning an 84.5 PFF pass-rush grade and generating 66 pressures on 507 pass-rushing snaps.

Fellow edge defenders Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux combined for another 85 pressures, giving New York plenty of reason to feel confident about its edge group.

"The concern is on the interior, where all three projected starters earned PFF run-defense grades below 65.0 last season."

New York's defensive front has an opportunity to skyrocket up the rankings in 2026.

Giants' Defensive Line is Positioned to Prove its Doubters Wrong

New York Giants outside linebackers Abdul Carter, Brian Burns, and Kayvon Thibodeaux | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Giants fielded a decent pass-rushing unit last season. They tied for 15th in the league in sacks with 39. Burns accounted for nearly half of the total with 16.5 of his own.

While New York didn't add any needle-moving pass rushers to the roster this offseason, progress from its year-two linemen paints an encouraging picture. Carter produced 66 pressures, ranking 12th in the NFL, but only converted four of them into sacks. Assuming a small bump in conversion rate, he could easily reach double-digit sacks.

Defensive tackle Darius Alexander is set up for a breakout season, too. He has been making plays throughout training camp, consistently disrupting the offense by getting into the backfield or batting down passes.

Burns sees improvements coming for Alexander. He recently told the media, "I would definitely say he wants to get better by himself on his own, which is important, but he also has a lot of vets that's pushing him and showing him the ropes as well."

Even if Carter and Alexander improve their production as pass rushers, the unit's run defense will be the key to substantial growth. The Giants allowed the second-most rushing yards in the NFL last season.

Veteran signing DJ Reader should help improve the run defense. He has produced nearly 200 run stops in his career and has never received a PFF run defense grade below 61. The Giants need a big year from Reader to address one of their most glaring weaknesses from last season.

With a league-average run defense and minor improvements from young pass rushers, Big Blue's defensive line will far outpace its No. 21 ranking in 2026.

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