A pair of New York Giants players have been named to ESPN’s projected list of the top 100 NFL players for 2026. One prominent player was left off the list.
ESPN ranked offensive tackle Andrew Thomas No. 81, and edge defender Brian Burns No. 81. Wide receiver Malik Nabers did not make the cut.
ESPN said this about Thomas:
Thomas is entering a season healthy for the first time in years. And when he’s healthy, he’s one of the league’s best left tackles. His 92.3% pass block win rate is the fifth best among
all left tackles over the past three seasons. There is no reason to think that will dip with Thomas healthy and in his prime. –
Signature stat: Last season, Thomas was one of three offensive tackles to rank in the top 15 of pass block win rate and run block win rate. The other two were the Rams’ Warren McClendon Jr. and the Vikings’ Brian O’Neill.
Offensive tackles ranked ahead of Thomas were Jordan Mailata of the Philadelphia Eagles (No. 48), Lane Johnson of the Eagles (No. 40), Garrett Bolles of the Denver Broncos (No. 37), Trent Williams of the San Francisco 49ers (No. 28), Tristan Wirfs of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 27), and Penei Sewell of the Detroit Lions (No. 12)
ESPN said this about Burns:
Burns is coming off a career-best 16.5 sacks and looks even better this summer. “He does so many things well, he’s going to excel,” said new coach John Harbaugh about Burns’ prospects in new coordinator Dennard Wilson’s defense. Burns also shouldn’t be getting a ton of double-teams with the continued development of Abdul Carter. He was doubled at a rate of just over 13% last season.
Signature stat: Burns had the second-most sacks in the NFL last season, which marked the most by a Giants player in a single season since Jason Pierre-Paul’s 16.5 in 2011.
This is probably a more realistic placement for Burns than the No. 14 he placed in the NFL Top 100 players from NFL.com.
As for Nabers, his omission from the list should not be surprising. The list is based on expectations for the upcoming season, and no one is certain what Nabers will look like coming off his torn ACL.
