ESPN’s Top 100 Featured Some Familiar New York Giants

Three Giants were featured on ESPN’s Top 100 Players: Andrew Thomas, Dexter Lawrence, and Brian Burns.

September 21, 2023; Santa Clara, California, USA; New York Giants defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II (97) before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. / Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Giants have adopted a very optimistic approach, partially because of the depth and key pieces they acquired in the offseason. When mixed in with returning players, the Giants have some solid pieces to form a foundation, and three of those players–left tackle Andrew Thomas, edge Brian Burns, and defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence II–were selected to ESPN’s top 100 players of 2024.

ESPN writers based this list of performance expectations for 2024 compared to their peers around the league. This list was curated by several NFL Nation reporters who weighed in on each player with a 2024 outlook, ESPN Stats & Information provided a signature statistic to know, and fantasy analyst Mike Clay projected a stat line for the upcoming season.  

Despite the Giants contributing two defensive linemen to the 15 overall edge rushers, they have one of the most respected tackles in the league. Thomas was ranked No.76. However, he was hindered to only ten games last season due to a hamstring injury.

In those 10 games, Thomas blocked Nolan Smith, Josh Sweat, and Brandon Graham only allowing one quarterback pressure, according to Pro Football Focus. Over the last two seasons, he’s recorded a 92.4% pass-block win ratio, ultimately ranking seventh amongst all tackles. His impact on the Giants offensive line has been priceless, when healthy the Giants have averaged 18 points per game.

Another player and unquestionably the most dominant Giant that was featured on the list was Lawrence. In 2023, Lawrence recorded 24 quarterback pressures and is lined up directly over the center. 

The next highest among all of his counterparts recorded only eight pressures. That said, Lawrence is the most dominant Giant and ranked the highest of any returning player on the team, being one of four players in franchise history to record at least 20 sacks and 250 tackles within their first five seasons, joining Jason Pierre-Paul, Carl Banks, and Leonard Marshall.

In the last four seasons, Burns has recorded at least eight sacks and ranks 14th best among all players during that span. He’s made his impact felt already in this short span as a Giant. 

After the Houston Texans preseason game, he was ranked the highest grade, according to Pro Football Focus. In his five seasons with the Panthers, he recorded the second-most sacks (46) in franchise history, trailing only Hall of Famer Julius Peppers.

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