The pass rush is commonly cited as the New York Giants greatest strength, certainly on the defensive side of the ball. And that’s with good reason, as the Giants did in fact field one of the NFL’s most dangerous pass rushes, and were collectively fifth in pass rush win rate.
Their pass rush production was driven by Brian Burns, who had a monstrous career-best season. Burns had 16.5 sacks, 31 QB hits, 22 tackles for a loss, 3 forced fumbles, and 7 passes defensed last year.
That season was good enough
for ESPN to rank Burns among the NFL’s 10 best pass rushers, but only barely — He only just made the list and was ranked ninth.
Before we get to their explanation, we’ll let ESPN explain its methodology:
Here’s how it works: Voters gave their own top 10 players at a position, then we compiled the results and ranked candidates based on the number of top-10 votes, composite average and dozens of interviews, with research and film study help from ESPN NFL analyst Matt Bowen as well as ESPN Research. More than 70 voters submitted a ballot on at least one position, and in many cases all positions. Additional voting and follow-up calls with those surveyed contributed to placements.
This was not a five-year projection or a career achievement award, but meant to answer a simple question: Who are the best players right now?
Top 10 pass rushers
- Myles Garrett (Los Angeles Rams)
- Micah Parsons (Green Bay Packers)
- Will Anderson Jr. (Houston Texans)
- Maxx Crosby (Las Vegas Raiders)
- Aidan Hutchinson (Detroit Lions)
- Danielle Hunter (Houston Texans)
- T.J. Watt (Pittsburgh Steelers)
- Nick Bosa (San Francisco 49ers)
- Brian Burns (New York Giants)
- Nic Bonitto (Denver Broncos)
And here’s what ESPN had to say about Burns’ ranking:
Highest ranking: 6 | Lowest ranking: Unranked
Age: 30 | Last year’s ranking: Honorable mentionBurns put it all together in Year 7, finishing second in the league with 16.5 sacks on his way to a second-team All-Pro nod. The sack total was the highest by a Giants player since Jason Pierre-Paul in 2011.
Burns’ talent was obvious when he entered the league in 2019. But production has been spotty throughout his career, and some evaluators wanted to see him routinely play with more power.
“He was different than in years past,” said an NFL coordinator. “He was more of a force consistently, more of a pain in the ass to play against.”
Burns’ 31 quarterback hits in 2025 ranked fourth among all defensive players. He was the NFL’s lone player with five multiple-sack games last season. Burns was a top-10 selection in past years before falling to honorable mention in 2025.
Chris’ thoughts
Someone go put this on Burns’ locker, because it’s about as disrespectful as a “Yo Momma” joke.
I just want to restate Burns’ stat line from 2025: 16.5 sacks, 31 QB hits, 22 TFL, 3 FF, 7 PD
Myles Garrett is absolutely the best pass rusher — and defensive player — in the NFL. There really isn’t any sane argument there.
I wouldn’t even argue Micah Parsons being above Burns, either. This list is only supposed to be for 2025 play, but the stark impact of Parsons’ absence had on the Packers’ defense speaks for itself.
However, there are multiple players on here purely based on reputation. Nick Bosa only played three games before being injured, and their touting of his pass rush win rate is undermined by the small sample size. Likewise, they admit that seventh-ranked Watt’s PRWR is the lowest in the group, he is “clearly in decline”, and has been surpassed by younger players.
Danielle Hunter played very well this year (15.0 sacks, 22 QB hits, 15 TFL, 3 FF) but that’s still worse than Burns despite playing on arguably the best defense in the NFL. ESPN admits that many of Hunter’s votes are a lifetime achievement award.
This year’s voting served as an appreciation of sorts for Hunter’s career. Not a major factor in past years’ voting, Hunter garnered top-five votes on more than half the ballots this time around.
There is no good argument or excuse — based on the rules ESPN laid down — for those three players to be ranked above Burns.
I would even argue that Burns should be no worse than fourth on the list. There’s an argument for putting Hutchinson above Burns, but he also benefitted from playing opposite one of the NFL’s most prolific offenses. He’s going to have more opportunities to rush the passer against opponents that were desperate to keep up.
Despite playing on a defense that was just downright bad and opposite an offense that was “okay”, Burns outplayed Will Anderson and far outplayed Maxx Crosby.
Oh, and by the way, Abdul Carter didn’t even get an honorable mention, which I wouldn’t have a problem with if they hadn’t included Bosa. Carter had the same 21% pass rush win rate as Bosa while also leading the NFL in quick pressures, time to pressure, and ranking eighth in total pressures — except Carter played a full season.
I hope someone lets Burns know that so many people who work for the Giants’ opponents think so little of him (and Carter, for that matter) that they’re willing to bend, or break, the rules to avoid giving him credit.
