Ranking the 7 most important NY Giants players on defense

Last season, we saw the NY Giants defense take a bit of a leap into becoming one of the better cores in the NFL. Now, entering 2023 with multiple improvements having been made, the Giants are looking to hopefully have a repeat season in terms of success. The odds of this happening rely heavily on the defense's top players continuing their strong level of play.

These seven guys mean the most to the Giants' defense. Without them, the team would be much worse than they currently are. However, the question must be asked; which player on the Giants' defense is the most important to their cause? Here, we rank the top seven defensive studs for Big Blue:

7. EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux

Keep in mind that this is based on importance, not who's the best. If it were the other way around, Kayvon Thibodeaux would likely be much higher. However, with some of the players the Giants added, Thibodeaux was pushed down a couple of spots. This doesn't mean he isn't super important, though, don't get us wrong.

Thibodeaux may not be as big of an impact player compared to others, but he's still incredibly important to the Giants' defense. Last season, he racked up 49 combined tackles, four sacks, five pass deflections, and two forced fumbles. In addition to this, Thibodeaux was also responsible for multiple game-changing plays throughout the 2022 season.

Entering 2023, Thibodeaux will likely make the leap into stardom and shoot up our list of important defenders. He was already a game-changer at times in his rookie season, so we can only imagine what an offseason of improvement could do for the former No. 5 overall pick.

The pair of Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari has the chance to be among some of the best pass-rushing duos in the entire NFL. While this mostly relies on Ojulari staying healthy, we're confident in the abilities of Thibodeaux and what he'll be able to do heading into next season and beyond.