In a 2023 season that was largely full of disappointments for the NY Giants, Kayvon Thibodeaux was one of the few bright spots for the G-Men. In his second season in the NFL, Thibodeaux made a huge leap, jumping from four sacks in 2022 to 11.5 in 2023.
Heading into 2024, there is no doubt the Giants' defensive line will have to carry the team if they want to find success. With Dexter Lawrence clogging up the middle and Brian Burns Jr. across from Thibodeaux on the outside, the Giants will need to dominate the line of scrimmage.
While the Giants' ultimate goal this season is to revitalize the franchise and make it back to the playoffs, Thibodeaux hasn’t been shy in sharing his lofty goals for 2024 - or for every season. Yup, he wants to break Michael Strahan's single-season sacks record of 22.5. Hey, the Giants legend is all for it, as he sent quite the response to the third-year pass-rusher:
I love the confidence and hope you get it @kayvont👍🏾
— Michael Strahan (@michaelstrahan) May 29, 2024
It’s a lot harder than you think💪🏾😉 https://t.co/9Qzz93rBpz
Michael Strahan is in Kayvon Thibodeaux's corner ahead of the 2024 campaign
It's great to see that Thibodeaux is motivated and determined to continue being a force up front. Unfortunately for him, he will have to compete with Burns this season to see who can get to the quarterback faster. Last year, Burns' average time-to-sack was 0.7 seconds faster than Thibodeaux's— an eternity in a game of split seconds.
Shane Bowen, the new defensive coordinator for the Giants, couldn’t care less about who gets the sacks as long as the QB is going down. With Bobby Okereke and Micah McFadden coming off great seasons at linebacker, and improvement expected from Deonte Banks in the secondary, the Giants really have something cooking on the defensive side of the ball. As long as Bowen continues to allow the young guys to develop and learn from their mistakes, the future could be very bright for NY on the defensive side of the ball.
Although Thibodeaux will surely have more opportunities rushing the passer in 2024 than Strahan did in 2001, it seems like a stretch for Thibodeaux to add seven sacks on top of his career total in one season. That said, no one will be rooting harder for the record to be broken than Giants fans, as the excitement over the defensive line continues to grow heading into training camp.