New York Giants Training Camp DL Room 2024
The 2024 NFL season is approaching, and Giants fans are building excitement. Training camp will kicked off on July 24th for the veteran players. Let’s take a look at the Giants’ defensive line group as the team heads into training camp & preseason.
Dexter Lawrence
Lawrence remained one of the NFL’s most dominant defensive linemen last season. He recorded 4.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss, 21 quarterback hits, two passes defended, and 53 total tackles (32 solo). Remarkably, he achieved these numbers despite missing one game and playing limited snaps in the final five games.
He’s the Giants’ defensive leader, and everything starts with him in the middle.
Brian Burns
Giants GM Joe Schoen traded the 39th and 141st picks in the 2024 NFL Draft, along with a conditional 2025 pick, to acquire Burns and the 166th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Schoen then signed Burns to a five-year, $141 million contract, with $87.5 million guaranteed, making him the third highest-paid edge defender in the league by average annual value.
The 26-year-old recorded eight sacks, 16 tackles for loss, 18 quarterback hits, one forced fumble, and two passes defended over 16 games last season. Burns’ 46 career sacks rank 12th in the NFL since he entered the league in 2019, while his 59 tackles for loss are tied for the sixth-most in that time. He also has eight forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and 95 quarterback hits.
Brian Burns provides the Giants with a massive boost on the defensive side of the ball.
Kayvon Thibodeaux
After a strong rookie season where he finished fourth in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux elevated his performance last season. Thibodeaux increased his sack total from four as a rookie to 11.5 in 2023. He also set new career highs with three forced fumbles, 12 tackles for loss, and 16 quarterback hits. As he prepares for his third season, Thibodeaux is raising the bar even higher for himself.
The 23-year-old was selected fifth overall in the 2022 draft. He’s emerging as a top defender in the league.
Azeez Ojulari
Ojulari is entering the final year of his rookie contract. When healthy, he’s shown his potential with 16 sacks in 35 games. However, injuries have sidelined him for 16 games over three seasons, and he hasn’t fully met expectations since the Giants selected him in the second round of the 2020 draft. The addition of Brian Burns and the emergence of Kayvon Thibodeaux should help alleviate some of the pressure on Ojulari and boost his production.
Jordan Phillips
The 2023 season marked Phillips’ second stint with the Bills. He played in 14 games, starting nine of them, and recorded 15 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and two tackles for loss. Phillips was on the field for 392 defensive snaps,but might face an uphill battle against a young and talented defensive line group.
Rakeem Nunez-Roches
In his first season with the Giants, Rakeem Nuñez-Roches played in 16 games and was active for 461 snaps—the third-highest of his career. However, his workload was inconsistent until after the Leonard Williams trade. Nuñez-Roches split his time between run and pass-rushing snaps, with a slight emphasis on the latter, generating 19 total pressures and 12 stops, marking the third-highest totals of his NFL career.
Nuñez-Roches brings value as a depth player due to his versatility, toughness, and high-energy play, making him an appealing asset.
Boogie Basham
Edge defender Boogie Basham struggled to find his rhythm in 2023 after joining the New York Giants and hasn’t lived up to his second-round draft status (No. 61 overall) by the Bills in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Given the Giants’ depth on the edge with Kayvon Thibodeaux, Brian Burns, and Azeez Ojulari, it looks like playing time might be hard to come by for Basham.
Jordon Riley
The Giants need reliable players to ease the burden on Dexter Lawrence. This is where Jordon Riley could step up. The 2023 seventh-round pick faced injuries early in his rookie season but gained momentum toward the end. With a strong summer, could he emerge as more than just a backup lineman?
D.J. Davidson
New York Giants defensive tackle D.J. Davidson returned last season and proved himself as a valuable depth player on the defensive line. He demonstrated his ability to step in as a spot starter and contribute valuable snaps at both nose guard and defensive tackle.
ElijahChatman
The New York Giants signed defensive lineman Elijah Chatman, an undrafted free agent who earned his spot after participating in the team’s rookie minicamp on a tryout basis.
Standing 6 feet tall and weighing 278 pounds, Chatman played in 60 games at Southern Methodist University, the second-most in the school’s history. As a graduate student in 2023, he was named first-team All-American Athletic Conference, recording 33 tackles, nine tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks. He also earned second-team All-AAC honors in 2021 and 2022.
Reports suggest he’s having a standout summer, and he could surprise some by making the final 53-man roster.
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