Brian Burns has seen enough of the New York Giants’ defensive mess to know what he wants the next version to look like. And after one of the few bright spots in a miserable 2025 season, the outside linebacker is talking like a player who believes the whole unit is about to change shape.
Burns didn’t just praise the direction of the defense - he painted a picture of a group that should be far more connected, far more difficult to decode, and far less dependent on one player carrying the load. That belief starts with new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson and the overhauled coaching staff, which Burns sees as the spark behind a different kind of Giants defense.
“I see it as a well-oiled machine,” Burns stated, via the Giants Huddle podcast. “I feel like the calls are going to be executed; they're going to be intricate. ...
It's not going to be simple for an offense to read or understand exactly what we're doing, and that's the beauty in defense, in my opinion. On top of that, you have world-class athletes at our size that can move around and do a lot of different things.
So, I just feel like it's going to be organized chaos.”
That’s a pretty strong vision, especially for a Giants fan base that has spent plenty of time watching the opposite. But Burns isn’t just buying the idea of Wilson’s scheme - he’s buying the personnel, too.
The front seven gives him plenty of reason. Burns is joined by Kayvon Thibodeaux, Abdul Carter, Tremaine Edmunds and first-round rookie Arvell Reese, a group that gives New York real talent at every level up front. Burns clearly believes that collection of playmakers can make Wilson’s system work the way it’s supposed to.
There’s also the back end, where Wilson’s background with defensive backs could matter. The Giants have a cornerback group that includes Paulson Adebo, 2026 second-rounder Colton Hood, Greg Newsome II and Dru Phillips, while Jevón Holland and Tyler Nubin give the safety room a chance to become something dangerous if it gets the right guidance.
Wilson’s arrival has generated plenty of buzz because of what he did with the Tennessee Titans. In his first season there, he helped lift an undermanned defense from second-worst in total defense to second-best, allowing 311.2 yards per game. That’s the kind of turnaround New York is hoping to see, and Burns sounds like one of the people most convinced it can happen.
That confidence stands out because the Giants have spent the last two seasons living in the kind of disorder Burns is now trying to leave behind. His first two years in East Rutherford have been dysfunctional, and the franchise has been stuck in that kind of chaos for a long time. Burns, though, is talking like a player who thinks the next chapter can finally look different.
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