Brian Burns has had an impressive start to his NFL career, yet there's untapped potential he wants to explore. Getting a fresh start to his career with the New York Giants, Burns feels his best years are ahead of him.
"I really don't feel like I tapped into my ceiling. I feel like I'm just scratching the surface," Burns told CBS Sports Lead NFL Insider Jonathan Jones Thursday at Giants camp. "I feel like I'm really entering my prime, honestly. I feel like there's so much more I can get better at.
"There's so much more I can improve on. Those numbers are gonna skyrocket once I do."
Burns is the first player since Yannick Ngakoue to have 7.5+ sacks in each of his first five seasons, all of which came with the Carolina Panthers. The Giants pass rusher is coming off a season which he finished with 40 pressures, 8.0 sacks, 18 quarterback hits and a 11.1% pressure rate with the Panthers.
Burns has 59 tackles for loss since entering the NFL in 2019, the sixth most in the league over that span. The Giants had the highest blitz and man coverage rates of any team in the NFL last season, but were 22nd in scoring and 29th in total defense.
That expects to change under new defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, who will still use Burns' strengths to his advantage.
"It allows me to continue to attack the quarterback," Burns said. "Not going backwards, not going into coverage as much. The main thing is we're going after the quarterback and we're embracing it."
New York only gave up a 2024 second-round pick and 2025 fifth-round pick to get Burns, creating one of the best pass rushing units in football with Burns (25), Kayvon Thibodeaux (23), and Dexter Lawrence (26).
The Giants finished 29th in pressure rate at 31.7% last season, so getting Burns and signing him to a five-year, $150 million deal was huge towards Bowen's philosophy to get after the quarterback. Burns' best years should be on the horizon, something he envisions will happen in New York.