The New York Giants added a stud on their defensive line by using the third overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on Abdul Carter out of Penn State.
This forms a lethal duo on the edge with Carter and veteran Brian Burns. This leaves Giants' former first round pick Kayvon Thibodeaux potentially out of the starting lineup, and an NFL analyst believes the time is now for New York to trade him away.
ESPN calls for the Giants to trade Kayvon Thibodeaux before the season even starts
"The Giants now have three starting edge rushers for two spots after drafting Abdul Carter to go along with Thibodeaux and Brian Burns. Thibodeaux has two years left on his rookie contract, and he'll need an extension after the 2025 season. The team won't want to pay him at the going price for starting edge rushers if he's not going to be starting.
Yes, New York can use an edge rusher rotation and get plenty of value out of him. It can create a NASCAR-style package where one of its edge rushers moves inside on third down. But the Giants can also trade Thibodeaux to a contender that needs help on the edge, such as the Packers or the Lions, and probably get a Day 2 pick in return. More draft capital would be a huge help for 2026 when they'll be trying to find as many strong offensive players as possible to build around quarterback Jaxson Dart and wide receiver Malik Nabers."- ESPN's one final move for all 32 teams
The Giants selected Kayvon Thibodeaux with the fifth overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Over the past three years, he has appeared in 43 games and has been a starter in all of them. He has recorded 21 sacks, with his career-best season coming in 2023, when he recorded 11.5 sacks. 2023 is the only season Thibodeaux has played a complete season, having played in only 12 games in 2024 and 14 games in 2022.
Now Burns and Carter are clearly set to be the top edge rushers for the Giants in 2025, which changes Thibodeaux's role with the team going forward. He is too talented not to see the field at a high rate, so I'm sure the Giants' plan will be to have a solid rotation of the three to keep all fresh on game days. Which I think would be a very smart plan and way to have one of the most talented edge groups in the NFL.
If they trade him now, they would probably get more in return than waiting to see how he fits in as a rotational piece. However, it would also significantly worsen their depth behind Carter and Burns if either had to miss time for any reason. My guess is Thibodeaux will be on the roster come training camp, because if they were going to trade him, I think it would have come directly after the draft, when I'm sure teams around the league were calling them after they selected Carter.
