Giants' defense needs these THREE players to 'arrive' in 2026 | Biue Rush

Giants legend Carl Banks tweeted that third year safety. Tyler Newben loves new defense coordinator Denar Wilson's defense. And it's going to allow my man to play like he did in college. And that got me to stop and start thinking. There are a couple of players within this new defense that's primed to have a breakout year. Check it out. I'm thinking Tyler Newben, Abdul Carter, and of course K'Von Thibodeau. Each guy obviously needs to have it for different reasons, but all three got to have their I have arrived type season. Obviously for individual reasons, yes. But for this defense to really rally and to live up to the hype. So let's break it down and we'll start with T. Newb. Newben has to have a breakout season because, and he'll say it himself, he didn't play up to his own standard as a rookie turned second year guy in 2025. The traits are still there, but for whatever reason, the production wasn't. But in comes new defensive coordinator Denar Wilson, and he runs a quarters-heavy system where the safeties are now the engine to the entire defense. It's Newben's world now. He's not a side role, and he doesn't play a side role anymore. I'm wondering if Denar Wilson's going to put him in the box a little bit more, blitz him a little bit more, or just keep him over the top and let him play with some range. That's what made the Giants grab him off the board in the second round, what, two drafts ago. This kid posted 13 interceptions in his final four years at Minnesota, and still yet hasn't picked off a single pass in the NFL just yet. But that can change because Wilson's scheme is built to turn eye discipline into takeaways once assignments are met. Bottom line, defense is being built around safety play for the first time in years. And the Newben x Javon Holland duo has the potential to be one of the top safety duos in the league. They just got to show it. All right, next, Abdul Carter. Carter doesn't really need a breakout season the way the other two do. He is coming off a rookie year that already had him tying Myles Garrett in a key pass rush stat, which I'll talk about, but expectations are about to get a lot louder with a number three overall price tag attached to it. But here's where Denar Wilson's schemes couldn't help him. It's described as a pressure heavy and disguise driven defense, kind of like Wink Martindale's 2022-2023 Giants defense. That's going to be a green light for a freak athlete like Abdul Carter to rush from multiple angles instead of being static in one spot. You see how freakishly athletic this kid is. He was one of the top pass rushers in the league when it came to generating quick pressures. But QPs are cool and all, but they don't get you Lawrence Taylor status. Denar Wilson's defense has his defensive backs playing a little bit more physical at the line of scrimmage, and that could make a quarterback hold on to the football just one click longer. So we can see those quick pressures actually turning into sacks. It always helps when you have a guy like Brian Burns on the other side. That's going to mean fewer double teams and cleaner one-on-ones. Year two, less resistance, more splash plays. Less making the news, falling asleep in a meeting, or not even being on time for a meeting, but being on time at the meetings in the backfield. I cannot wait to see Abdul Carter go off in year two. If this defense is going to take the leap that people are predicting and fans are hoping, Abdul Carter's name is most likely going to be one of the faces of it. Lastly, K'Vaun Thibodeau. This is as close to a make-or-break year as it gets. Everything that K'Vaun wants as a professional athlete, as a pro, is right there in front of him this season. Production can get this man paid. Contract year. He's coming off a shoulder injury that ended his 2025 early, and now folks are calling him the third best player in his own position room behind Burns and Carter. It's motivation at its finest for K5s. Wilson's pressure packages are built to manufacture snaps for rotational rushers, and there's already talk that moving K'Vaun to the inside as a stand-up rusher to use his get-off against guards instead of tackles, kind of like how they used Justin Tuck in his early years on that defense. Now, K'Vaun's been the anchor on that D-line, or the edge, when it comes to setting the run and playing and stopping the run and playing the edge. When he's out, the run game suffers. Everybody knows that. This is the dude that does all the dirty work. All eyes are going to be on this kid because a strong year either earns him a second contract in New York, makes him a valuable trade option on the trade market, or it puts him in position to get some real money and free agency. But health is going to be the swing variable here more than scheme, I believe. When he's played in full seasons, the tools have shown up. All love and respect to my guy Victor Cruz, but Giants fans need to see the salsa dance as a sack celebration this season. If you know, you know. If so, K'Vaun is going to have a lot to celebrate.