If you want to understand how the New York Giants ran their franchise into the ground over the last decade, 1 position group’s story arc stands out from the rest.
That position is edge rusher, where the Giants have used a Top 5 pick twice in the last 6 seasons and, in that same stretch, traded for 1 of the NFL’s elite edge rushers in Brian Burns.
The problem in 2026 is that they’re all still on the roster. That includes the 1st player to join the Giants in that group, 2022 No. 5 overall pick Kayvon Thibodeaux, who has seemed like a prime trade candidate since the Giants drafted edge rusher Abdul Carter at No. 3 overall in 2025.
With Thibodeaux headed into another season with the Giants, The Athletic’s Dan Duggan put him at the top of his list of NFL players with the “most on the line” in 2026 — and a major motivation to play well.
“The Giants listened to trade calls on Thibodeaux this offseason, but elected to keep the No. 5 pick from the 2022 draft when the offers were underwhelming,” Duggan wrote on July 20. “Thibodeaux was available because the Giants traded for Brian Burns in 2024 and drafted Abdul Carter in 2025. Thibodeaux is set to earn $14.75 million on his fifth-year option as a backup. Though he won’t start, Thibodeaux will have opportunities to rush the passer. If he produces an 11.5-sack season as he did in 2023, a monster payday awaits. If he struggles in a reduced role, he could be headed for a prove-it deal in free agency.”
Best Trade Offer Revealed by NFL Insider
Duggan recently revealed not only were the Giants receiving offers for Thibodeaux, a former No. 5 overall pick, but exactly what those offers were and why the franchise didn’t bite.
“The Giants took trade calls on Thibodeaux this offseason, but they were never looking to give him away, so they kept him when the best offer was a fourth-round pick,” Duggan wrote. “It seems likely Thibodeaux will be elsewhere next year based on the Giants’ investment in Burns and Carter. But the Steelers showed this offseason a team can pay three edge rushers when they gave third edge rusher Nick Herbig a four-year, $100 million extension. The Steelers are already paying TJ Watt ($41 million per year) and Alex Highsmith ($17 million per year). The Giants have some wiggle room if they want to commit to Thibodeaux, since Carter can’t be extended until after the 2027 season while Burns is signed through 2028.”
It’s not hard to see the Giants hearing from some of those same teams again in training camp or at the NFL trade deadline — probably the former — due to either injuries or when they realize 1 of their starting edge rushers is trash.
Kayvon Thibodeaux Coming Off Rough Season
Thibodeaux missed a career-high 7 games with a shoulder injury in 2025 and finished with a career-low 2.5 sacks. He now finds himself firmly behind NFL All-Pro Burns and Carter.
Thibodeaux, 6-foot-5 and 258 pounds, was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft out of the University of Oregon — a year in which the Giants had 2 picks in the Top 10 and also took offensive tackle Evan Neal at No. 7 overall.
Through their first 4 seasons, neither Thibodeaux nor Neal has made a Pro Bowl, and both were taken ahead of 4 different 1,000-yard receivers in Drake London, Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, and Jameson Williams.
At 25 years old, Thibodeaux has exactly 1 chance to land a massive payday by how he plays in 2026. Spotrac already projects his market value in free agency to be something in the range of a 4-year, $74.6 million contract in the 2027 cycle.
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