Not long after being selected fifth overall by the New York Giants in the 2022 NFL draft, Kayvon Thibodeaux had a quick connection with team legend and Hall of Famer, Michael Strahan. And Strahan quickly offered his services as his mentor.
It was a little over a year ago, coming off an 11.5-sack season, when Thibodeaux said he had his sights set on breaking Strahan’s single-season sack record, which Strahan set back in 2001.
Thibodeaux made it clear this week that he’s going for the record again.
“More than I ever had,” he said about his desire to break records. “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 got to do to help the team. So yeah. I’m still going for the record; I’m going to go for the record every year.”
The record has since been tied by Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt in 2021.
After Thibodeaux shared his goal of snatching the record, Strahan stated he would support Thibodeaux breaking his record, which would keep it in the Giants franchise.
The record is slightly more attainable now with the NFL regular season being 17 games. Strahan, of course, set the record in a 16-game season.
The Giants’ defensive line got significantly better in the offseason after they spent the third overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft on Penn State’s superstar edge rusher Abdul Carter.
Thibodeaux should have a little extra motivation coming into Year 4 of his NFL career after the Giants drafted Carter. He may also have an easier time than he has in the past with the opposing offense’s attention tied to Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, and Carter.
After a double-digit sack season in his sophomore season in 2023, Thibodeaux had just 5.5 sacks last season. He will have to bring his game to another level if he is going to challenge Strahan’s single-season sack record, let alone break it. But he has an idea on how to go about it.
“I didn’t finish. I think I had five half-sacks, which should have been whole sacks. I’ve had probably four or five missed tackles at the sack point,” he said. “So just finishing my plays and being able to just come out on top of every situation.”
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