July 24, 2026, 5:00 p.m. ET

The New York Giants are less than a week away from opening their 2026 training camp, and we have been previewing the team’s various units. Today we look at the edge rushers.

The Giants have been stockpiling edge rushers the past few seasons, using top assets to draft, trade for, and sign high-caliber players.

“I think our defensive front, man, it’s scary. I love it. We have – we’re almost cursed with too much talent. We have that – we have a matchup problem no matter what team we face. I think just being able to work together and just play off each other and continue to build that chemistry, that’s going to be key for us,” Kayvon Thibodeaux said.

Thibodeaux may be right. The talent runs so deep that he is currently a backup. This past April, the Giants drafted Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese, arguably the best pass rusher in the draft, and are shifting him to inside linebacker due to the logjam.

Outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen

Bullen is back as one of the few holdovers from Brian Daboll’s staff. He served in the same role under Daboll the past two years and was inserted as interim defensive coordinator for the final five games of 2025. He is well-respected among his peers and the players. An astute move by incoming head coach John Harbaugh to retain him.

Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.Brian Burns

Burns had a Pro Bowl season in 2025, finishing with 16.5 sacks. That tied him with Jason Pierre-Paul (2011) for fourth-most in a single season in Giants franchise history. Burns also racked up 31 quarterback hits last year, the most by a Giant player (Leonard Williams had 30 in 2020) since the stat became official in 2006. Burns also became one of eight players ever to record at least 7.5 sacks in each of his first seven seasons. The Giants expect him to expand that streak to eight seasons in 2026.

Abdul Carter

Carter, the third overall selection out of Penn State in last year’s NFL draft. The Giants did not have an immediate role for him and used him as a rover at times. He played in all 17 games but only started six, recording 43 total tackles (25 solo) with seven going for a loss. Carter had 23 QB hits and 4.0 sacks, 3.5 of which came in the last five games of the season when he was a starter. He also had two forced fumbles and two recoveries. Carter had 72 QB pressures last season and led all NFL players with 48 quick QB pressures. With Carter settling into a full-time role, he should explode numbers-wise as the Giants’ right outside linebacker this year.

Kayvon Thibodeaux

His quote above seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy as he starts training camp as a backup. After an offseason in which he was a hot name on the trading circuit, Thibodeaux is playing with house money after the Giants turned down multiple offers. He’s in the final year of his rookie contract, which will pay him $14.7 million, and the pressure is basically off him for once. The Giants will use him as needed, but there’s no world in which they platoon Burns or Carter, so Bullen and new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson will have to get creative with him. That, of course, all depends on Thibodeaux staying healthy, something he hasn’t been able to do the past two seasons.

The others

The Giants could very well integrate Reese into some packages to give him a taste on the outside this year. That’s one of the reasons why they drafted him, so it makes sense. Don’t be surprised if sixth-rounder Jack Kelly gets a look as well. The depth chart lists three other players at outside linebackers: Khalid Kareem, Caleb Murphy and Trace Ford. Kareem, a Notre Dame product, is 28 and the Giants are his fifth NFL team. Murphy was signed to the practice squad late last season. Ford spent most of 2025 on the Giants’ practice squad.