The players took notice. Brian Burns is one of the best in the game.

The outside linebacker was revealed as No. 14 on the NFL's "Top 100 Players of 2026." It made him the highest-ranked Giants defender ever to appear on the list, which debuted in 2011 and is decided annually by current NFL players. Burns broke the previous mark set by former Giants defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, who was No. 17 last year and No. 24 in 2024.

Before that, Jason Pierre-Paul came in at No. 24 in 2012 after one of the most dominant seasons in franchise history. In 2011, Pierre-Paul helped propel the Giants to a Super Bowl XLVI championship run with 16.5 sacks, the fourth-most in team history until Burns tied it this past season.

The highest-ranked Giants player overall on the "Top 100" remains wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr.

Now in his second stint with the team that drafted him, Beckham was No. 8 in 2017, No. 10 in 2016, No. 32 in 2015, and No. 77 in 2018.

Players around the league on both sides of the ball weighed in on what makes Burns great.

DE Maxx Crosby: "Around the league, you're going to watch the sack tapes. I watch Brian Burns. Great pass rushers, I want to see how I stack up."

OT Tristan Wirfs: "He's slippery. The way he moves like – he's just so slippery. But so smooth at the same time as well. Yeah, impressive dude."

QB Tyler Shough: "He's tough. He's really tough. I've got to know where he's at. It's hard to get away from him. Some guys maybe step up and run away, but he's so athletic."

LB Alex Highsmith: "He's just a freak athlete and a crazy rusher. I've got a lot of respect for him. In terms of tools in the toolbox, [he has] as much as any guy in the league. He's chop-ripping. He's swiping. He's ghosting. He's spinning."

LB Tavius Robinson: "The way he sets up tackles with inside moves, outside moves, he always finds a way to get to the quarterback."

OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux: "He's a guy, when you watch his tape, you're going to think like, 'How can he play so fast? How can he make these things happen?' But it's because he studied enough. He knows from the quarterbacks' tendencies to protections to what the DBs behind him are doing, and I think that projected him into that next level of eliteness."

Burns racked up the accolades in 2025, when he was named second-team All-Pro by the Associated Press. He was also voted to his third career Pro Bowl, first with the Giants. Burns also made the Pro Bowl in 2021 and 2022 as a member of the Carolina Panthers.

In his seventh NFL season, Burns set career highs in sacks (16.5), quarterback hits (31), tackles for loss (22), and forced fumbles (tied with three) while starting all 17 games for his second consecutive season with the Giants. His 31 quarterback hits, meanwhile, are the most by any Giant since the statistic started being tracked in 2006.

"I remember when he came out, he was just a skinny kid coming out of college and getting here and seeing, he's a big man now," defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson said recently at training camp. "He's a pro's pro. He is disciplined in everything he does. And you mix that discipline, you mix that leadership with the skill set that he has. It's like the young guys have to follow, right? And he's a guy that if he doesn't see something right, he's going to address it. He's going to take the bull by the horn and move the room. So, it's been outstanding being around him. I enjoy my time with him every day, our small conversations about things other than football. I mean, he's an interesting guy and he's a hell of a football player."

Most sacks by a Giants player, single season:

Burns, voted a team captain last season, led the NFC in sacks and was second in the NFL to only Myles Garrett, who set the all-time sack record (23.0) in the final game of the regular season. The previous NFL mark of 22.5 was held jointly by Giants legend Michael Strahan (2001) and Pittsburgh's T.J. Watt.

Burns is one of eight players ever to record at least 7.5 sacks in each of his first seven seasons. The others are Reggie White, Derrick Thomas, DeMarcus Ware, Jared Allen, Aaron Donald, Ryan Kerrigan and Yannick Ngakoue.

Burns spent his first five seasons in Carolina, where he was drafted 16th overall in 2019. Since then, he is fifth in the NFL with 71 sacks.

Most sacks in the NFL since 2019:

Burns is eager to further his game under John Harbaugh and his staff.

"I think the main way to grow in this sport, in this profession, is to be uncomfortable," Burns said. "You don't ever want to feel like your spot is guaranteed. You don't ever want to feel like you've made it. You always want to keep pushing yourself and having those type of coaches to call you out in front of everybody and hold you to a standard that you may not always hold yourself to is important. So, having Harbs and D-Will keep us on track to keep us uncomfortable is where we need to be. We need to be paranoid."

History of Giants in NFL Top 100 Players:

2026: OLB Brian Burns (No. 14)

2025: DL Dexter Lawrence (No. 17), WR Malik Nabers (No. 67)

2024: DL Dexter Lawrence (No. 24), OLB Brian Burns (No. 55)

2023: DL Dexter Lawrence (No. 28), RB Saquon Barkley (No. 31)

2022: DL Leonard Williams (No. 97)

2021: CB James Bradberry (No. 74), DL Leonard Williams (No. 84)

2020: RB Saquon Barkley (No. 31)

2019: RB Saquon Barkley (No. 16)

2018: WR Odell Beckham Jr. (No. 77), S Landon Collins (No. 92)

2017: WR Odell Beckham Jr. (No. 8), S Landon Collins (No. 28), CB Janoris Jenkins (No. 54), DT Damon Harrison (No. 96)

2016: WR Odell Beckham Jr. (No. 10), QB Eli Manning (No. 47)

2015: WR Odell Beckham Jr. (No. 32)

2014: S Antrel Rolle (No. 72)

2013: QB Eli Manning (No. 43), DE Jason Pierre-Paul (No. 55), WR Victor Cruz (No. 58)

2012: DE Jason Pierre-Paul (No. 24), QB Eli Manning (No. 31), WR Victor Cruz (No. 39), DE Justin Tuck (No. 62), WR Hakeem Nicks (No. 90)

2011: DE Justin Tuck (No. 60), S Antrel Rolle (No. 68), G Chris Snee (No. 77)