For the first time in what feels like forever, the New York Giants are staring down a big, bad question that won’t instantly give fans heartburn or rage. It’s not about underperformers or another star walking out the door. It’s about how to fit four starting-caliber edge rushers into one rotation.
That’s it. That’s the Giants' biggest remaining question heading into 2025 (pauses for sighs of relief and victory cigars).
New York’s front office didn’t mess around this offseason. They spent the No. 3 overall pick on Abdul Carter, picked up Kayvon Thibodeaux’s fifth-year option, and signed Chauncey Golston to a multi-year deal. This all comes after trading for Brian Burns last season. All four guys could be starters. All four will be in rotation. It’s now up to head coach Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator Shane Bowen to figure out who’s on the field and when.
Some questions are just easier to live with. This is one of them. When your biggest unknown is how to divvy up snaps between four legitimate pass rushers, you’re doing something right. No answer here is a bad one, and that’s a luxury most teams don’t have.
Giants’ edge rusher “question” is one teams wish they had
In a recent article for Pro Football Focus, Bradley Locker spotlighted each NFL team’s biggest remaining question. For New York, he pointed to the edge group and how the snaps will be divided. He wrote:
“Brian Burns (82.9 PFF pass-rushing grade, 61 pressures) is essentially a lock to start in his second season in New York, but the rest of the rotation is undecided. Abdul Carter (92.4 PFF pass-rushing grade) would figure to demand first-team snaps even as a rookie, although the Giants did pick up the fifth-year option on Kayvon Thibodeaux (72.0 PFF pass-rushing grade). Chauncey Golston (60.7 PFF pass-rushing grade) also inked a three-year, $19.5 million deal, which isn’t insignificant.
How Brian Daboll chooses to deploy Carter and Thibodeaux — maybe even sliding one inside on occasion — will be fascinating.”
Locker’s not wrong. It’s a question worth asking. But there’s a reason Giants fans are looking at this group with more excitement than concern.
Burns is already one of the team’s best players. Carter has top-tier traits and enters the league with enough polish to push for a major role immediately. Thibodeaux still has room to grow, but he’s flashed real upside and was far from a liability last season. Golston gives New York added length and physicality, offering the staff another option on passing downs, especially if they want to mix in interior looks or tailor the rotation to matchups they can exploit.
Philadelphia showed in the Super Bowl how important a dominant edge rotation can be, overwhelming Patrick Mahomes with fresh pressure all night. If the G-Men can create that kind of disruption, it could take heat off the secondary and let the front seven take over games.
It’s not a perfect system yet. Someone will inevitably be grumpy about playing time. But it is what it is. Carter’s still a rookie, and Thibodeaux still has to show consistency. But compared to where this group was two years ago, it’s a completely different conversation. And one worth having every single week if it means they're getting after the quarterback.
No defense necessarily wants to rotate edge defenders because they have to. The Giants are about to do it because they can. Having too many is a heck of a lot better than not having enough.