The Giants didn’t pay record-setting money for slow Burns, sick Burns or freezer Burns.
While the return of Daniel Jones from a torn ACL and Malik Nabers replacing Saquon Barkley as the offensive focal point might be the two-pronged talk of the first few days of training camp, pass-rusher Brian Burns is about to discover that effort, durability and production constantly are judged under the New York microscope.
The Giants think he is the perfect fit to check all three boxes.
General manager Joe Schoen’s decision to trade for Burns and sign him to the largest defensive-player contract in franchise history (five years, $141.5 million) is a domino that rippled across the rest of an offseason — most notably the second round of the NFL draft — that ends Tuesday when veterans report for camp.
The pressure is on Schoen for the trade result to turn out better than the other signature decision of his three-year tenure: Re-signing Jones to a four-year, $160 million extension in 2023.
And it is on Burns — the NFL’s third-highest-paid but 10th-best edge-rusher, according to a recent ESPN poll of league sources — to buck a recent history of disappointing introductory seasons by the Giants’ big-ticket additions.
Under former general manager Dave Gettleman, Nate Solder never recovered from allowing seven sacks in 2018.
Same for Golden Tate after his four-game PEDs suspension to start 2019.
And for Kenny Golladay after griping about the play-calling during his second game and subsequently spending three weeks shelved by a knee injury.
As good as Schoen’s signing of iron-man Bobby Okereke looks after one season, trade acquisition Darren Waller will be remembered for missing five games due to injury and scoring just one touchdown at the one-year cost of $12.1 million before retiring.
Once upon a time, the Giants made Olivier Vernon the highest-paid edge-rusher in the NFL ($52 million guaranteed in 2016) and he struggled to satisfy restless fans even with 22 sacks in 39 games.
Like Burns, Vernon was more of an all-around every-down factor than a terrorizing sacks monster.
“The first thing that comes out of a fan’s mouth is, ‘He’s making X amount of dollars and he’s not doing this or that. A guy who makes that kind of money should be able to overcome this or carry his team,’ ” one former Giants player told The Post.
The Giants believe Burns, 26, is different from past busts, as assistant general manager Brandon Brown explained on HBO’s “Hard Knocks.”
“[A pass-rusher] rarely comes to the market that has good character and also is young — under 28 — and has production,” Brown told Schoen. “We all feel good that he’s still ascending.”
Such is the reason that Schoen agreed to trade the higher of his two second-round picks and include a fifth-round pick and a separate fifth-round pick swap.
It sounds like a bargain considering the Panthers once turned down two first-round picks from the Rams in exchange for Burns, but every decision has a price.
League sources believe Schoen would have drafted a cornerback if the premium asset traded for Burns had been pick No. 47 instead of No. 39.
The Giants showed significant interest in Kool-Aid McKinstry (No. 41 to the Saints) and Kamari Lassiter (No. 42 to the Texans), the league sources said, but both were selected by the time that Schoen pivoted to the first safety on the draft board (Tyler Nubin) at No. 47 and a slot cornerback (Dru Phillips) at No. 70.
Nubin — who head coach Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator Shane Bowen sounded excited by on “Hard Knocks” — will be locked in a position battle against Dane Belton during the summer, while outside cornerback Cor’Dale Flott could be unchallenged as a starter.
Schoen’s plan is for Burns to be the best friend to Flott, Nubin, Phillips and top cornerback Deonte Banks in his second NFL season.
Burns will team with Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux but likely relegate oft-injured former second-round pick Azeez Ojulari to a reduced role.
Any attempts by Daboll to downplay the significance of sacks if the vaunted pass rush starts slowly likely will be met with a reminder that television footage shows he asked Schoen about Burns’ sack history — 46 in 80 career games — and not his number of pocket pressures when considering the trade.
But if he can up that pace in accordance with his new contract, the Giants will have a new piece that Burns bright.