Giants Now: NFL.com predicts Giants’ 2024 MVP

NFL.com predicts Giants’ 2024 MVP

The Giants’ acquisition of Brian Burns has been met with wide-spread praise over the last few months.

With training camp finally here, members of the media are predicting big things for the new member of the team’s pass rush.

NFL.com’s Eric Edholm recently predicted the 2024 Most Valuable Player for every team across the league, and when it came to the Giants, he went with Burns.

“Burns might have been the Panthers’ co-MVP a year ago (with Derrick Brown), and I think he will thrive on a Giants defense that features an emerging Kayvon Thibideaux on the opposite edge and an established Dexter Lawrence in the middle…” wrote Edholm. “If the Giants are going to surprise people this season, the defensive line likely will have to be a big reason why. The Burns trade and extension felt like one of the savviest fell swoops of the entire offseason. Some teams might not have viewed Burns with the same reverence because of his solid but hardly eye-popping sack numbers, but the tape reveals a consistently disruptive edge capable of earning All-Pro honors in New York.”

The Giants acquired the 6-foot-5, 250-pound linebacker in a trade with the Panthers during the first week of free agency. Burns was set to be one of the top free agents on the market this offseason before the Panthers placed the franchise tag on him.

The 26-year-old registered eight sacks, 16 tackles for loss, 18 quarterback hits, one forced fumble and two passes defensed across 16 games last season.

Burns’ 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.

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.

According to Pro Football Focus, the trio of Burns, Lawrence and Thibodeaux combined for 148 quarterback pressures in 2023.