Brian Burns put together the best season of his NFL career in 2025, recording a career-high 16.5 sacks to go along with 31 QB hits, 22 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and seven passes defended for the New York Giants.
The veteran linebacker secured his third career Pro-Bowl selection — and gained some serious respect among his NFL peers.
On Thursday, Burns was announced as the No. 14 player on the 2026 NFL Top 100 rankings — as voted on by the league’s active players.
Burns was not ranked on last year’s list.
The Giants took to social media to react to Thursday’s announcement.
“Checking in at 14: Spida Burns,” the team wrote on X.
Burns began his NFL career with five seasons in Carolina before landing with the Giants in a trade before the 2024 season.
“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,” Burns’ New York teammate Kayvon Thibodeaux said. “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.”
The Giants will begin their regular-season schedule with a Week 1 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 13.