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When the New York Giants inserted Nick Gates at center, no one really knew what to expect. After all, Gates had never before played the position and while he was both extremely aggressive and intelligent, it was obvious there would be a significant learning curve.
Unsurprisingly, Gates struggled early on.
However, as each week passes, Gates becomes visibly more comfortable in his role and more confident in what he’s seeing across from him. His ability to identify defenses and assign protections is becoming more seamless, and that benefits everyone across the offensive line.
But where is the ceiling for Gates? If you were to ask offensive line coach Marc Colombo, he’d tell you there isn’t one. In fact, he believes Gates can become one of the best centers in football.
“Early on its was seeing a lot of different looks for the first time. He’s seen all the stuff now, so you can see the play start to increase,” Colombo told reporters on Tuesday. “He’s a lot better with his technique, he’s a lot better with his pad level, he’s doing a lot better job helping there in the middle when we go against even type teams where he has to help both sides, he’s making really good decisions. His communication with Daniel, his communication with me on the sideline coming out of a series, it’s really good right now. Nick is just getting started. I truly believe he can be one of the better centers in the NFL.”
The grades seem to reflect Gates’ ascension and support Colombo’s theory.
Early on this season, Gates was regularly among the Giants’ lowest-graded players, earning Pro Football Focus grades in the range of 42.6 – 58.0. However, over the previous four games, Gates has seen his grades rise dramatically to between 60.2 – 74.5.
And it’s not like there has been a sudden and dramatic leap for Gates. Like the rest of the team, it’s been a slowly and steady incline. There are some anomalies, of course, but for the most part, it’s been consistent improvement for Gates.
Can he become one of the best centers in football? That remains to be seen, but there’s no denying that the Giants and Colombo are only just beginning to scratch the surface of Gates’ overall talent.
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