The Green Bay Packers have a glaring hole on its defense entering into the 2025 NFL season. Green Bay did not do enough this offseason to fix its pass rush.
The pass rush was not a good unit for the Packers in 2024, and it doesn’t seem as if it will get better in 2025, unless they make a trade. Green Bay needs to make a trade before the season begins, unless they like what they have. General manager Brian Gutekunst likes what he has on the roster. One player that may not be a starter this year at edge is New York Giants edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux.
ESPN Analyst Thinks That the Green Bay Packers Should Trade For New York Giants Edge Rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux
Seth Walder of espn.com created a few different mock trades before the 2025 NFL season begins. He thinks that the Packers should trade away a second-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to the Giants for Thibodeaux and a 2026 fifth-round pick. There is no doubt that Green Bay would improve its pass rush with this addition.
Walder said,
“There is nothing inherently wrong with having three talented players at edge rusher, because it’s a premium position and the Giants can rotate snaps. But it makes sense for them to divest from Thibodeaux. That’s because they are still in a rebuild and noncontenders in 2025; they are extremely invested at the position after spending top-five picks on Thibodeaux and Abdul Carter and after trading for and handing a big contract to Brian Burns. They have plenty of holes to fill in 2026, the earliest they could feasibly contend.
The Packers are natural trade partners here. This is a team in contention now, but with a major need at edge. Green Bay’s current grouping of Rashan Gary, Lukas Van Ness, Kingsley Enagbare and fourth-round pick Barryn Sorrell probably isn’t cutting it — the team ranked 26th in pass rush win rate last season. Thibodeaux would certainly help the cause.
Who, exactly, Green Bay would be getting remains a question. Thibodeaux hasn’t quite lived up to his predraft hype. He has 21.0 sacks in three seasons with the Giants, along with a 16% pass rush win rate at edge that’s essentially average for a starter at the position. But given his draft pedigree and young age (24), he absolutely still offers star-level upside. Plus, he’s been on a bad team the past two years — it’s undoubtedly harder for pass rushers to generate big numbers when trailing.
In terms of contract, Green Bay would be getting Thibodeaux at an extreme bargain in 2025 ($1.1 million) and a light bargain in 2026 ($14.8 million).”
If New York were to trade Thibodeaux to Green Bay or anywhere else before the season, it means that they are 100 percent sold on Carter and Burns entering the 2025 season at edge rusher. However, New York probably wants to try having Thibodeaux on its roster because of the depth and potential this defense has during the 2025 NFL season.
During the 2024 season with the Giants, he recorded 28 tackles, 5.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and two pass deflections. Thibodeaux is only 24 years old and is entering his fourth NFL season. The Giants hope that he can be a major part of this defense for the long haul.
There is no doubt that Green Bay wishes that they can get a player like Thibodeaux onto the roster. However, New York has big plans for this defense this season and the Giants may not be down to trade him at all during any point during the 2024 NFL season.
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