Creating a logjam reminiscent of their early-2010s situation on the edge, the Giants drafted Arvell Reese fifth overall despite rostering Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Abdul Carter. This four-first-rounder armada gives the Giants a tantalizing group at a premium position.
This cadre is deep enough the Giants are starting Reese out as an off-ball linebacker. Reese joins No. 10 overall pick Francis Mauigoa in being stationed at a lower-profile position to start his career (the Giants are preparing to use Mauigoa at guard after he spent his college career at right tackle). But it is certainly possible more time for Reese as a traditional pass rusher opens up via a Kayvon Thibodeaux trade. Moving Thibodeaux has come up on a few occasions this offseason, including on draft weekend.
The Giants rejected a Saints fourth-round offer for Thibodeaux, holding out for a second-rounder. Big Blue is believed to value Thibodeaux “significantly higher” than the rest of the league right now, according to ESPN.com’s Jordan Raanan, who adds the fifth-year edge defender has impressed the new Giants coaching staff.
Thibodeaux has not delivered on his No. 5 overall draft status, but the Oregon product has produced in spurts. He registered a Giants-leading 11.5 sacks in 2023 but has dealt with injuries over the past two seasons. Thibodeaux missed five games in 2024 and seven in 2025. Last season, he only tallied 2.5 sacks and nine QB hits. That came after a 5.5-sack 2024, though the contract-year EDGE posted a career-best 17 QB hits that season. Still, teams are highly unlikely to send the Giants a second-round pick for Thibodeaux given his recent production and health issues.
I mentioned in our Giants Offseason Outlook piece a way for the team to increase Thibodeaux’s value would be to hope he can deliver a strong start to the season. A host of teams have forked over at least third-round picks for contract-year edge rushers in recent years. Not too many first- and second-round choices have been exchanged for rentals at the deadline, though the Bears sent the Commanders a second for Montez Sweat in 2023 while the Dolphins gave the Broncos first- and fourth-rounders for Bradley Chubb. Both players signed big-ticket extensions soon after those trades. Thibodeaux has been a less consistent option compared to those two, however, which makes the Giants’ second-round price a bit unreasonable.
It will be worth monitoring if the Giants’ new staff would be open to reducing the Thibodeaux asking price to clear space for Reese, whose situations reminds of Mathias Kiwanuka‘s after the 2010 Jason Pierre-Paul first-round pick.
A natural pass rusher, Kiwanuka played extensively at off-ball linebacker due to the Giants accumulating impressive depth at defensive end at the time. Reese is currently slated to team with Tremaine Edmunds at ILB, with DC Dennard Wilson and holdover OLBs coach Charlie Bullen tasked with finding ways to deploy the rookie as a pass rusher while Thibodeaux is still rostered.
An early-March report indicated the Giants would prefer to move Thibodeaux, and noise continued until draft weekend. The Giants’ decision to grant Dexter Lawrence‘s trade request looked to lower the chances of a Thibodeaux move, but the Reese pick only offered another reminder of Thibodeaux’s temporary New York status. The Giants have Burns signed for three more seasons, while Carter’s rookie deal can be extended through 2029 via the fifth-year option.
Thibodeaux trade fits had come up after the Carter pick; Reese being in the fold makes it likely a move is coming before 2027. With Reese’s fifth-year option covering the 2030 season, Big Blue is set at OLB for the foreseeable future — if/when Reese becomes a regular part of the team’s pass rush. Thibodeaux, 25, will be a prime candidate to be dealt by the deadline. A late-summer move would not be especially surprising, either, but the Giants are holding out for better offers than they have thus far received.
This is why this nonsense about “position prestige” and “positional value” is just that.
You play a player where they can have the most impact. Putting Reese at defensive end would be a waste of the rest of his ability and skill set and potential.
Those other guys CAN’T cover the pass. Thibodeaux especially can’t do much of anything but rush the passer, and he’s incredibly inconsistent at that even. Reese might be able to, and that versatility makes him far more valuable in the long run than any one trick pony edge rusher.
I remember those Giants teams. Kiwanuka was a beast but he wasn’t an OLB because of Pierre Paul. He was a DE every year until 2011, and he got moved to OLB because he wasn’t on the level of Tuck, Osi, and then Pierre-Paul as well. Kiwanuka made a lot of impact plays but he wasn’t the consistent force the others were. He was the perfect complement to the main guys though. He’d probably be a major edge rusher if the position existed anywhere other than the 3-4 in those days. Actually a good comparison would probably be a guy like Boye Mafe. He didn’t put up the biggest stats most years but he made an impact in all areas of the game.