Pass rusher Brian Burns may be the missing piece for Giants' D

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Brian Burns sits most days at his new locker looking out in the oval-shaped locker room at the Quest Diagnostics Training Center after practice. To his right, he sees wide receiver Darius Slayton, among the longest-tenured players on the New York Giants. To Burns' left is the door to the training room and showers.

Across the way, on the other side of the doors, is the locker of quarterback Daniel Jones -- also in a coveted end spot that provides more space and central access.

It's no accident that Burns and Jones have prime real estate inside the Giants' locker room. They are the two highest paid and most important players on the roster this season. Jones is the embattled quarterback playing for his future and Burns the marquee offseason acquisition whose job is to elevate the team's defense into a different stratosphere.

"I feel like it's our responsibility to make sure the defense elevates," Burns told ESPN. "I put it more on the leaders and captains of the defense to raise the level of play."

By virtue of his contract and resume, Burns is part of that group. General manager Joe Schoen and the Giants placed a massive bet that he will take his game and this defense to new levels. They traded a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fifth-rounder to the Carolina Panthers for Burns and a 2024 fourth-rounder. They then handed him a new five-year, $141 million deal that makes him the highest-paid edge rusher in 2024 when he will pocket $43.5 million, according to Roster Management System.

It goes to show just how much the Giants have riding on Burns. He's the shiny new gadget in defensive coordinator Shane Bowen's toolbox, looking for the second double-digit sack season of his career.

"I'd be disappointed if I weren't a double-digits sack guy anywhere," Burns said. "I mean, but that's just my personal goals."

The idea of having Burns next to nose tackle Dexter Lawrence, opposite fellow edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux and in front of middle linebacker Bobby Okereke has New York believing last year's 26th-ranked defense will make significant strides. The Giants' decision-makers kind of have their fates riding on the defense's success.

"Yeah, any good player makes a difference," coach Brian Daboll said. "I can't quantify it. He's a good pass rusher. He's done a good job in camp. It takes 11 people to play good on defense. It takes 11 people to play good on offense, special teams. But when you have a good player, that certainly helps the other 10 players."

There is some precedence that the addition of one player can change the look and feel of an entire defense. Burns isn't the only high-end pass rusher to get traded for a significant price in recent years. Most, including Von Miller with the Los Angeles Rams and Khalil Mack with the Chicago Bears, made significant and immediate impacts. The Giants are hoping that is the effect Burns has on them as well.

GIANTS HISTORY IS flush with star pass rushers. This is an organization that had either Lawrence Taylor or Michael Strahan sacking opposing quarterbacks every year from 1981 to 2007, a span of 27 consecutive seasons with one of the league's best pass rushers on their roster.

At times, that wasn't even enough. Former general manager George Young once drafted Carl Banks third overall to supplement Taylor. Ernie Accorsi built a Super Bowl team in 2000, but they ultimately lost to the Baltimore Ravens and that legendary defense. Immediately after the game, Accorsi was already thinking about a rebuild. At the top of the list: Get more pass rushers!

"Most important, we have got to get pass rushers," Accorsi said in a recent interview with ESPN. "We had [Michael Strahan], but hell, you could quadruple team him if you had to. We had no pass rushes besides him."

The Giants had Thibodeaux with 11.5 sacks last year in his second professional season. Jihad Ward was second on the team with 5.0 sacks, but he had the lowest pass rush win rate (1.1%) of any edge rusher last season. Essentially it was Thibodeaux and nobody else consistently threatening opposing quarterbacks from the edges.

New York had Lawrence getting push from the middle and Thibodeaux cleaning up on the edge. It wasn't enough. The Giants were 26th overall defensively and finished tied for 28th in the league with just 34 sacks.

BURNS, 24, ALREADY views himself as a leader of the team. He has quickly developed a strong relationship with Thibodeaux and it's not uncommon to see the two of them going over notes during practice.

Burns isn't going to be yelling and screaming in the middle of huddles. That's not his personality. He's more lead-by-example than rah-rah.

That should work because Lawrence has become one of the team's most vocal leaders. He and Okereke are captains.

"I think it's natural for me [to lead]. There's only so much BS that a person can handle."

Lawrence was referencing the losing he's experienced since coming to the Giants in 2019. They've had one winning season since.

Burns appears to be along for the ride -- as a dominant cog in the wheel. He knows the lofty expectations and responsibility that comes with being a highly-paid edge rusher in New York. He's had conversations with some of the Giants legends who remain close to the team, among them Strahan.

"The brief talk I had with Strahan, he told me about how it was winning in New York," Burns said. "How electric the city is and how you are treated and whatnot."

That is the message the likes of Taylor, Strahan, Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora often pass along to the next generation. Concentrate on taking care of your business on the field and everything else will follow. You become king of the city if, or when, you win.

The Giants don't need Burns to be good in order to get there -- they need him to be great. That is why they're paying him as the third highest-paid edge rusher in average salary per season at $28.2 million.

Burns doesn't look at it as pressure. He sees it being more of a responsibility or opportunity. He feels that if he views it as pressure, it will become a burden. He just wants to do his part.

"I feel like a high-end pass rusher can make his plays and be a game-changer, but at the same time, I feel like it's a unit type of thing," Burns said. "I feel like any great pass rusher would tell you, yeah, he's good at what he does and he's great, but if it wasn't for the other three guys or the other four guys, he couldn't get that job done.

"So without Dex, I can't get sacks. Without me, he can't get sacks."

THERE HAVE BEEN only a handful of trades to acquire a Pro Bowl pass rusher who was in his prime over the past decade. It's not often teams are willing to move on from players who are constantly in the backfield.

Most recently, the Bears acquiredMontez Sweatfrom the Washington Commanders midway through last season. The Bears went from 31st in defensive efficiency over the first eight games to fourth over the final nine weeks after acquiring Sweat.

Clearly he made a difference. The same can be said for the Rams acquiring Miller late in the 2021 season and Mack joining the Bears before the 2018 campaign. The Rams led all playoff teams with a defensive EPA of 20.94 on their way to the Super Bowl that year, and the Bears had the No. 1 scoring defense in that first season with Mack leading their defense. He had 12.5 sacks that season.

"I mean, but if you look in all those cases, it really was like a piece of a puzzle, right?" Burns said. "There were other guys, right? [Miller] joined [Aaron Donald] and then Khalil joined Big Akiem Hicksand [Leonard Floyd]."

The Giants did have a foundation before trading for Burns. Lawrence has emerged as the NFL's preeminent nose tackle. His 24 quarterback pressures last season when lined up across from the center were the most in the NFL, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Nobody else had more than eight. Thibodeaux also reached double-digit sacks for the first time in his career and Okereke has played the past two seasons at a Pro Bowl level.

Together, in Bowen's defense, they have a chance to excel. The scheme allows the rushers to rush, the cover guys to cover. Burns, Lawrence and Thibodeaux will get after the quarterback.

But will Burns' addition be enough?

"It looks great and I told the guys this, everything looks great on paper, but it comes down to our chemistry. It comes down to how locked in we are to the playbook, how much we buy in that can take us to the next step," Burns said. "But if you look at the paper, yeah, everything looks gravy. But it's all in what you do with it."

All are eager to see what the defense can do with Burns in the middle of it all.