Jan. 11, 2026, 9:17 a.m. ET
New York Giants All-Pro linebacker Brian Burns has solidified himself as part of the team’s core this season with a 16.5-sack season and stepping up as one of the Giants’ leaders.
Joining him in that core of players that will help the Giants lure a top coach this offseason are three rookies who broke out in a big way — quarterback Jaxson Dart, linebacker Abdul Carter, and running back Cam Skattebo.
This week, Burns appeared on The Pivot podcast with Ryan Clark to discuss how this Giants rookie class is wired differently.
“I think the confidence in those three is different than, you know, what the younger generation is coming with,” Bruns said. “I feel like their confidence is coming because they are making it before they actually make it. The NIL and all this, all the things they’re getting, like they’re already being able to do what we’re doing now. You feel me?”
Burns went on to discuss how all three players have impacted the Giants this year.
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“These three cats we got in New York, though, I mean, Dart obviously the confidence, the aura, all that stuff, whatever. Woo,” he said. “Scat, you tell by the way he play. He got confidence out the (expletive).
“And Abdul, these last five or six weeks, but even from jump before, you know, all this happened because he’s playing behind Kayvon because Kayvon’s playing his best ball, you feel me? But all of that, he had that dog, that killer mentality, before y’all was able to see what he can really do on the field. He’ll tell you straight up, like when he step on the field, that he a different animal. Like, he just turned into this killer mode. He really disrespects anybody that’s in front of him. I be telling him like, ‘All right, cuz. Hey, as long as you can back it up, do your thing.'”
In 2026, the Giants will lean on these four players, who were all brought in by current general manager Joe Schoen, to take them to the next level.
