There wasn't a lot to be excited about for New York Giants fans this season, but behind a promising young nucleus, Brian Burns was at the top of the list. Burns enjoyed the best season of his career in 2025, but because the Giants weren't competitive in any way, it went mostly overlooked.
Burns logged 16.5 sacks this season and earned a Pro Bowl nod, but he didn't receive consideration for the award that counts. The 27-year-old was expected to be a frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year, but when the NFL released its finalists for the DPOY award, he was nowhere to be found.
The finalists for AP Defensive Player of the Year presented by @TCL_USA! #NFLHonors pic.twitter.com/uCYIuxpnmU
— NFL (@NFL) January 22, 2026
With the three-time Pro Bowler snubbed from consideration, the league instead opted to recognize Micah Parsons, Aidan Hutchinson, Myles Garrett, Nik Bonnito, and Will Anderson Jr. The presence of some of these names, like Garrett and Bonnito sense, but others are about as preposterous as it gets.
The NFL must not have been watching the Giants if they don't think Brian Burns is a worthwhile DROY finalist
Only Garrett recorded more sacks than Burns this season, and he managed to break the NFL's single season sack record set by T.J. Watt and Michael Strahan. He's not the player to be mad about, because these finalists are practically a formality when he already has the DPOY award on lock.
The Florida State product recorded a career-high in sacks, yet he can't receive any respect. Bonnito and Anderson finished with similar numbers on much better teams, while Hutchinson wasn't very far behind, even though the Lions missed the playoffs. Where things really get dicey is with Parsons.
After being traded from the Cowboys to the Packers mere weeks before the season started, he got off to a sensational start in Green Bay. Through 14 games, he logged 12.5 sacks and was the beating heart of one of the best defenses in football, so his presence would make sense until disaster struck.
In the Packers' Week 15 loss, Parsons suffered a non-contact injury in his left knee, which was later revealed to be a torn ACL. It was a heartbreaking end to a fantastic season, but you can't tell me the only reason he was nominated for DPOY was because of the way their defense collapsed without him.
If he finished the season, I would absolutely understand this, but it feels like they just plucked the best pass-rushers off of playoff-caliber teams (and Garrett) rather than actually doing the work to decide the best candidates, so if I were Burns, I would use this as motivation.