Kayvon Thibodeaux eyes Azeez Ojulari's rookie sack mark
Azeez Ojulari, Giants linebacker, left, scrimmages against Kayvon Thibodeaux during training camp at Quest Diagnostics Training Center in East Rutherford, N.J. on Aug. 14. Credit: James Escher
Azeez Ojulari set the Giants record for most sacks by a rookie last season.
Kayvon Thibodeaux plans on taking it from him.
“I mean, I wouldn’t not want it,” Thibodeaux said on Friday, radiating confidence that he can eclipse the benchmark of 8.5 this year. “I told [Ojulari on Thursday] in the meeting, like, everything he does I want to do it better. Whether it’s eating, sleeping, or breathing, I’m going to try to do it better. Just continuing to set a standard and continuing to chase and create that competitive banter.”
Ojulari’s response to that challenge?
“He said, ‘Yeah, it’s on,’” Thibodeaux said. “He said he has goals he wants to reach and we’re just going to keep pushing each other to get there.”
There are a few other numbers for Thibodeaux to chase this season as he embarks on his pro career. While Ojulari does hold the rookie record for the Giants, Lawrence Taylor recorded 9.5 sacks in his first season of 1981 before sacks became an official statistic. “Shoutout to L.T.,” Thibodeaux said upon learning of that. There is also the NFL record for sacks in a rookie season of 14.5 set by Jevon Kearse in 1999.
Of course before he gets close to those heights he has to get his first. He played a minimum amount of snaps in last week’s preseason opener against the Patriots without any quarterback hits but said he is hoping to see more playing time Sunday against the Bengals to aim for his initial takedown.
They wouldn’t count toward any regular-season marks, but Thibodeaux would still love to put himself on the board.
“[You] realize that you only have so many rushes and you only have so many plays to dominate,” he said of the preseason games. “So just making sure that I don’t leave any out there.”
Chasing records as he is, he can’t afford to, even in the preseason.
Notes & quotes: The list of players not expected to suit up for the Giants on Sunday due to injury is long and includes: RBs Matt Breida and Gary Brightwell; TEs Andre Miller and Ricky Seals-Jones; WRs Kadarius Toney and Darius Slayton; DL Leonard Williams; LBs Elerson Smith and Jihad Ward; S Dane Belton; CBs Cor'Dale Flott and Rodarius Williams; and OL Jamil Douglas, Ben Bredeson, Josh Ezeudu, Garrett McGhin, Jon Feliciano and Shane Lemieux. There are also three players on PUP who will not play: WR Sterling Shepard and OL Nick Gates and Matt Peart.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
