Giants Loaded "Secret Weapon" Will Cause Headaches for Opponents

The New York Giants have a bit of a conundrum that, perhaps, secretly makes them the envy of the NFL.

New York boasts a four-deep pass rusher rotation that last year did a decent enough job getting after the passer, registering 48 sacks.

(That number might very well have been higher with better play from the defensive secondary, but I digress.)

The great thing about how the Giants built up their outside linebacker room is that not only did they go back to the homegrown approach, something they got away from after they traded away Jason Pierre-Paul after the 2017 season, they ensured themselves of having depth to where if the do end up losing anyone due to injury, trade, or free agency, they’re not going to be left with a glaring hole in their depth.

Want another reason to like this group? Versatility. Whereas back in the day, an edge rusher was either a fit for a 4-3 or a 3-4, with the Giants having moved to a more multiple-front, every pass rusher on the roster is versatile enough to do multiple things.

The only problem? How to get them all on the field at once. Defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson has been experimenting with different looks and configurations this spring, but you know he has to be thrilled beyond belief to have so much talent at his disposal.

Giants OLB Depth Chart: Projected Starters

New York Giants linebacker Brian Burns | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Brian Burns: Hands down the best player on either side of the ball, Burns is coming off a career-high in sacks (16.5) and a season in which the level of effort and hustle helped him secure sacks in every which way imaginable, including off of stunts, contain, pursuit, via edge speed rushes, and bull rushes.

Burns was also a major factor against the run and was solid in drop-back coverage.

Did we mention that for the second straight season, he didn’t miss a single game? Burns continues to live up to his contract with all-out hustle and determination, from the first snap to the last.

Abdul Carter: Carter finished the season as the starter after Kayvon Thibodeaux was forced to IR with a shoulder injury.

Carter’s 2025 season was a mixed bag. He started out promising, then became invisible; it later turned out he was slacking off on the little things, like showing up on time for meetings and such.

Once Carter got his head screwed on straight and stopped becoming frustrated by what opponents were throwing at him, he showed everyone why he was worthy of being a top-three draft pick.

Add to that how Charlie Bullen, who took over as defensive coordinator, wasn’t afraid to move Carter around to tap into more of his skill set, and it’s little wonder that the young man ended up in the DPOY discussion.

Giants OLB Depth Chart: Projected Backups

New York Giants linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kayvon Thibodeaux: Thibodeaux has all the talent in the world to be a complete outside linebacker, but for the last two seasons, he’s missed chunks of time with injuries that have landed him on IR in each season.

He enters the upcoming season in a contract year, looking to score a monster pay day after the season, be that with the Giants or someone else. He’s going to have to be far more productive, though, than the 2.5 sacks that he accumulated in 10 games played.

Chauncey Golston: Golston is another edge guy who dealt with injuries. Once he kicked the injury bug to the curb, Golston actually showed some promise as a run-defender.

While not really showing much on the pass rush, to be fair, his deployment by the coaches–he wasn’t lined up inside much on passing downs, which is how he made his money to begin with–may have had a hand in his meager production.

Trace Ford: Ford was with the Giants last summer as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma. After initially failing to make the 53-man roster, he was added to the practice squad only to be terminated two days later. Ford signed a reserve/futures contract with the team in January.

Khalid Kareem: Kareem has been in the league since 2020, having entered as a fifth-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Since 2022, he’s bounced around the league, making stops with the Colts, Bears, and Falcons before signing a one-year deal with the Giants earlier this month.

Caleb Murphy: Murphy, a four-year veteran, was a late-season waiver claim from New England last year for depth after Kayvon Thibodeaux went on IR.

Giants Draft Picks: Arvell Reese

Arvell Reese has already been anointed the team’s weakside linebacker, and according to head coach John Harbaugh, Reese will line up all over the place, including off-ball and on the edge. We covered Reese in our look at the inside linebacker group.

What We Know: The Giants are deep at this position

One of the hallmarks of the last two Giants Super Bowl teams was that they had a deep lineup of edge rushers who were versatile enough to be moved around and who had speed.

This isn’t to say the 2026 Giants team is a Super Bowl roster, but it certainly doesn’t hurt that they are four deep at this spot. Brian Burns is a lock to be on the field every down, having delivered the goods every season.

As of right now, it looks as though Abdul Carter will be the other starter, but with such a deep rotation, defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson has the luxury of crafting different personnel packages aimed at creating havoc for opponents.

The interesting thing is how he plans to get as many of these guys on the field at once. Will he, for instance, move Thibodeaux down to the line as a stand-up rusher?

Will Chauncey Golson be used the way he was in Dallas on the inside when he showed pass rushing chops? Where will Abdul Carter and Arvell Reese fit in? The possibilities are endless.

What We Don’t Know: Will Thibodeaux be a Giant for the duration of 2026?

The Giants have insisted that they’re not actively looking to trade Thibodeaux, who is due to count for $14.75 million in cap space this year.

It would also appear that given Thibodeaux’s recent injury history and his lack of elite production, it would have to take an act of desperation by a team in the postseason hunt to cough up what is believed to be the Day 2 draft pick it would take to wrestle Thibodeaux away from the Giants.

Either way, the Giants will be fine. If they can get a draft pick, great. If they can’t, they should have on their hands a highly motivated, full of pride young defender who understands the stakes before him. If he stays healthy and produces at the level his talent suggests he can, he’ll get his payday while also helping the Giants win.

If he doesn’t, he’ll go off into free agency in search of a fresh start, the Giants benefiting because they would likely end up with the Day 2 draft pick they are thought to have been seeking in a trade anyway.

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