2023 Pre-Season Rank Unranked.  Peak Period: 2019-23

After five seasons with the Carolina Panthers, Brian Burns is now a New York Giants, hopeful of adding a third Pro Bowl.   If the Giants do well this year, Burns will play a massive part in that success.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists and consistently look to update them when necessary and based on necessity. As such, we are delighted to present our post-2023 revision of our top 50 Buffalo Bills.

As for all of our top 50 players in football, we look at the following:

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Football League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Panthers had an abysmal year, winning only two games, but as they are still a relatively young franchise, there was surprising movement in the top 50 with two new entries and two elevations.

As always, we present our top five, which saw no changes:

1. Steve Smith
2. Cam Newton
3. Luke Kuechly
4. Julius Peppers
5. Ryan Kalil

You can find the entire list here.

Two-time Pro Bowl Linebacker Brian Burns rocketed to #25 from #41, but he is now a New York Giant.

Offensive Tackle Taylor Moton shot up to #35 from #45.

The first new entrant is Defensive Tackle Derrick Brown, who is coming off his first Pro Bowl.  He enters at #43.

The second debut is Linebacker/Safety Jeremy Chinn, who comes in at #45.  He is now with the Washington Commanders.

Notably, Nose Tackle Greg Kragen and Cornerback Ken Lucas has been dropped off the list.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

The 2024 NFL offseason is far from over, and it’s already given us plenty of fireworks. There have undoubtedly been some massive free-agent signings, and the upcoming NFL draft looms large with tons of top-end talent. In the meantime, sports fans can look forward to betting opportunities with welcome no-deposit bonus offers explained at Overtime Heroics to stay engaged for the upcoming season.

And now, let’s take a look at 3 of the biggest NFL offseason trades so far as well as their potential impact on the 2024 season and beyond.

1. Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears

Bears Receive: WR Keenan Allen

Charger Receive: 2024 4th Round Pick (no. 110 overall)

Not wanting to make the same mistake that the Panthers did with Bryce Young last season, the Bears made a wise move to acquire 6x Pro-Bowler Keenan Allen for just a 4th-round pick. 

Allen dealt with some injury problems in 2022 but bounced back hugely with arguably a career-best season in 2023, putting up 108 receptions, 1243 yards, and 7 touchdowns as Charges QB Justin Herbet's #1 option. He might be on the wrong side of 30, but the former California Golden Bear has been one of the most reliable high-volume pass catchers in football since 2017 and should benefit from the decreased workload playing next to DJ Moore in Chicago. 

Moore and Allen will immediately give the Bears one of the best-receiving pairs in the league and should make life a whole lot easier for presumptive #1 pick Caleb Williams. 

2. Brian Burns to the New York Giants

Giants Receive: EDGE Brian Burns

Panthers Receive: 2024 2nd Round Pick (No. 39), 2024 5th Round Pick Swap, 2025 5th Round Pick

The New York Giants might not have Super Bowl ambitions, but this is a great move to not just shore up the front of their defense, but mold it into an elite unit. Burns is one of the most underrated pass rushers around, making the Pro Bowl 2 of the last 3 seasons on a Panthers front line that didn’t give him a whole lot of help. 

In the Big Apple, Burns will be getting a ton of extra 1-on-1 matchups as teams will be forced to double All-Pro Dexter Lawerence in the middle. Alongside 2022 7th overall pick Kayvon Thibodeaux, the Giants should be fine getting to the quarterback next season and beyond, freeing up more resources to fix their dysfunctional offense. 

3. Joe Mixon to the Houston Texans 

Texans Receive: RB Joe Mixon

Bengals Receive: 2024 7th Round Pick (244th Overall)

Although Mixon was already out the door in Cincy, the Texans paid a 7th-round pick to guarantee his services. The veteran running back has tons of playoff experience with the Bengals, including a run to Super Bowl LVI, and is a reliable pass catcher who can make plays out of the backfield. 

Mixon will turn 28 next season which is pretty old in RB years, but he shows no sign of slowing down, breaking the 1400 yards from scrimmage mark for the 4th time last season. The 1x Pro Bowler should be a reliable backfield option and a great security blanket for budding star QB CJ Stroud as the Texans try to cement themselves as a consistent playoff team. 

The Carolina Panthers have not had much to smile at from 2018 to 2023, but they had a ray of sunshine in Brian Burns.

The former Florida State Seminole joined the Panthers as a First Round Pick in 2018 (18^th Overall) and started five games as a rookie. A starter in 2020, Burns became one of the NFC South’s best pass rushers, collecting Pro Bowl nods in 2021 and 2022, with his best numbers coming in 2022 with 12.5 Sacks/17 Tackles for Loss/22 Quarterback Hits,  After another solid 2023, Burns was franchise tagged, and then traded to the New York Giants leaving behind 46 Sacks, 59 TFL and 95 Quarterback Hits.