Giants Pass Rush Impressing Bobby Okereke, Jevon Holland

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Giants Pass Rush Impressing Bobby Okereke, Jevon Holland originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The New York Giants hoped their pass rush would be incredible in 2024. After investing another first-round pick into the unit, the expectations for the defense, and its headliners, are higher than ever.
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In 2025, it must be elite.
There is no shortage of star power at defensive coordinator Shane Bowen's disposal. Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux were a promising duo along the edge, and even if the sack totals didn't follow, the latter took a step forward in 2024. First-round edge rusher Abdul Carter will take away some of Thibodeaux's opportunities, but afford Bowen the ability to optimize their snaps to keep them fresh and in advantageous spots.
Perhaps more importantly, Carter, Thibodeaux, and Burns, combining forces with superstar tackle Dexter Lawrence and rookie Darius Alexander, should make the rest of New York's defense better.
At offseason workouts, multiple Giants veterans previewed what should be an elite pass rush.
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'I mean just the same as them getting to the quarterback faster,' safety Jevon Holland said. 'They stop the run, plug the gaps, and whatnot, and then that allows us to play a lot. So, in defense, if you can win with four, then you'll be more successful. You don't have to bring pressure and whatnot. You have more people in the back end, so you win with four, and you're able to stop the run like that. Then it just opens up more for the defensive coordinator for everybody to kind of just go and have fun, pin their ears back as they like to say.'
In 2024, the Giants were able to get after the quarterback with regularity, at least until Lawrence went down around Thanksgiving. The secondary, however, struggled mightily.
Merely playing sound coverage was an issue for the cornerback room. More concerning, though, was the five interceptions the defense forced across 17 games. With Holland and corner Paulson Adebo in the building, New York has more ball skills to capitalize on the pass rush's success.
Further, the introduction of Carter does more than inject the unit with raw pass-rushing production.
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'I think it's great position flexibility all around and we have some packages,' Okereke said. 'I'm on the edge, Burns is off the ball, Abdul is off the ball. We're all kind of rotating around, so that's our job as players to sharpen our tools and to just be weapons for Shane to utilize on game day.'
Carter's experience at linebacker should make him comfortable over the A-gap on occasion, and if he moonlights off the ball for a few plays per game, he can continue opening up the defense to different looks.
At this point, the Giants' talent level on defense is clear. If this unit, particularly the pass rush, takes a step back, it will be an indictment on the staff tasked with weaponizing it.
Related: Edge Rusher Rankings Set High Bar for Giants
Related: Carter Reacts to Joining Giants' Loaded Line
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 3, 2025, where it first appeared.