Giants' Kayvon Thibodeaux 'going for' the NFL sacks record in 2025

Kayvon Thibodeaux expects a lot more from himself this season.

Especially sacks.

The New York Giants edge rusher had just 5 1/2 of them last season after setting a career best with 11 1/2 in 2023. Thibodeaux, who missed five games with a broken bone in his left wrist, has clear — and what he believes are realistic — goals heading into this season.

"I think I'm a consistent double-digit sack guy and I've got to do that, you know?" Thibodeaux said Tuesday after the first practice of the Giants' three-day mandatory minicamp. "It's been three years, going on four now, and it's been a lot of ups and downs in my career and as a team.

"But I think this is a team that can win and I can help that."

The fifth overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft out of Oregon had four sacks as a rookie after being rated among the top edge rushers coming out of college that year. Thibodeaux showed impressive progress in 2023 and further raised expectations for last season when he made headlines by saying he was aiming for the NFL's single-season sacks record of 22 1/2, held by former Giants star Michael Strahan and current Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt.

And the 24-year-old Thibodeaux isn't backing off that lofty aspiration.

"Every time I come out on the field, I want to have more sacks than I ever had, more tackles than I ever had, and whatever I’ve got to do to help the team," he said. "Yeah, I’m still going for the record. I’m going to go for the record every year."

But after last year's disappointing showing, Thibodeaux spent a chunk of the offseason watching his performance snap by snap while critically assessing his play.

"I didn't finish," Thibodeaux said. "I think I had like five half-sacks, which should've been whole sacks. I had probably