The New York Giants have one of the most dangerous trios in the entire NFL on the defensive front. Kayvon Thibodeaux wants to use this to set a historic record

Pass rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux of the New York Giants has set his sights high for the NFL season starting this fall. The 23-year-old, who is entering his third year in the NFL, wants to break the record for most sacks in a season.

“We’ll just start with me going for the record – so don’t ask,” Thibodeaux joked at a press conference, clarifying: “Every year I’m here, I’m aiming for Michael Strahan’s record.”

Hall of Famer Strahan, a Giants legend, had 22.5 sacks in 2001 and was subsequently voted Defensive Player of the Year. T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers tied the record in 2021 and was also named the league’s best defensive player that year.

If Thibodeaux, the fifth pick in the 2022 draft, has his way, the record will soon be his. His personal best comes from the previous season and stands at 11.5 sacks. So there’s still a long way to go before Strahan and Watt, but the circumstances are better for the Giants than for almost any other team.

In Thibodeaux, Dexter Lawrence and new signing Brian Burns, who came via trade from the Carolina Panthers, New York has perhaps the strongest pass-rush trio in the entire NFL. New defensive coordinator Shane Bowen has already announced that the three of them will work together in the quarterback hunt.

Although the sacks will presumably be distributed among more players, the opposing offensive line will not be able to concentrate on one or at most two players. The total number of successful breakthroughs to the quarterback is likely to increase – even for Thibodeaux.

However, the linebacker is aware that pass rushers probably have it easier these days than in Strahan’s day. “He didn’t have as many opportunities. The game wasn’t as pass-heavy back then. I have opportunities that others would have liked to have. “