Giants Now: 3 Giants land on ESPN’s top 100 players

3 Giants land on ESPN’s top 100 players

With the regular season rapidly approaching, media outlets are beginning to release their predictions for the 2024 campaign.

ESPN’s NFL Nation staff recently published who they believe will be the top 100 players of the upcoming season, which featured three Giants – outside linebacker Brian Burns, defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence and offensive tackle Andrew Thomas.

Let’s start with Burns, who was the highest-ranked Giant at No. 36.

“So far, Burns has impressed,” wrote ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. “Cornerback Nick McCloud said he was in “awe” of the explosion Burns possesses at his size (250 pounds). The Giants even think Burns can take his game to the next level playing with Dexter Lawrence II in the middle and Kayvon Thibodeaux on the other side.”

Burns registered eight sacks, 16 tackles for loss, 18 quarterback hits, one forced fumble and two passes defensed across 16 games last season. His 46 career sacks are tied for 12th in the NFL since he entered the league in 2019, while his 59 tackles for loss are tied for sixth-most in that span. He also has eight forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries to go with his 95 quarterback hits.

The 26-year-old registered a pass rush win rate of 20.4 percent over the past four seasons, Raanan noted, which ranks 14th among all players during that span.

Burns has never recorded fewer than 7.5 sacks and 16 quarterback hits in a season, which he did as a rookie. He posted career-highs in sacks (12.5) and quarterback hits (22) in 2022, when he earned his second consecutive Pro Bowl nod.

He is one of only eight players in NFL history to record at least 7.5 sacks in each of their first five seasons.