When New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman logged into Zoom for a conference call on Tuesday, it didn’t take long before things got a bit heated.
NFL Network’s Kim Jones challenged Gettleman on his offensive line, repeatedly pressing him about the presence of Nate Solder and Kevin Zeitler.
That exchange can be seen below:
Dave Gettleman v. Kim Jones pic.twitter.com/yPx1hsr9nQ
— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) March 9, 2021
In 2020, the Giants had an offensive line that featured a rotation including Andrew Thomas, Will Hernandez, Shane Lemieux, Nick Gates, Kevin Zeitler, Cam Fleming and Matt Peart. Three of them were rookies and one was a first-time starter at center.
For reference, here are their current ages:
- Andrew Thomas (21)
- Will Hernandez (25)
- Shane Lemieux (23)
- Nick Gates (25)
- Kevin Zeitler (30)
- Cam Fleming (28)
- Matt Peart (23)
Note: When the 2020 season started, Thomas was 20 and Gates was 24.
That comes out to an average age of exactly 25. If we’re being objective and honest, that is not “old” by NFL standards and is actually quite young when accounting for Gates’ lack of experience.
In fact, the Giants had one of the youngest 53-man rosters in the league as of September of last year. At an average age of 25.7, only eight other teams could boast about more youth. So what does it say about New York’s offensive line when their average age was younger than a collective roster that was among the most youthful in football?
In 2021, the unit will look relatively similar but will likely be without Fleming. Instead, there’s a possibility that Nate Solder (32) returns after opting out last season due to COVID-19 concerns.
“When your center and your left guard and your left tackle are rookies, basically you’re young,” Gettleman said.
Based on their previous rotation, the presence of Solder would boost the offensive line’s average age from 25 to 25.6, but even then they’d be younger than one of the youngest collective rosters in the NFL.
Of course, there is no guarantee that either Solder or Zeitler return in 2021. The Giants have already approached Solder about a potential restructure/pay cut and rumors persist that Zeitler is very much on the trading block.
Gettleman also left open the possibility that Peart, not Solder, would start at right tackle this season, making the Giants’ offensive line one of the youngest in football (starting five would have an average age of 24.4).
“I am, yes,” Gettleman said when asked if he’d be comfortable with Thomas and Peart both starting. “When [Peart] played, he played fine. He played pretty damn well. At some point in time, you’ve got to let the young kids play. Listen, every player was a rookie at some point or a young player at some point. At some point in time, you have to have confidence in who’s on your club and you have to put him in there and let him play.”
It’s a strange scenario because on one hand, Gettleman was being hammered for supporting aging veterans. On the other hand, he was being hammered for having faith in young guys starting. Both sides of the same coin were being played against him, which has become the norm over the past two years.
It’s also important to remember what Gettleman inherited when he took over as general manager in December of 2017. At the time of his hiring, the Giants’ offensive line consisted of the following: LT Ereck Flowers (23), LG John Jerry (31), C Brett Jones (26), RG Jon Halapio (26) and RT Justin Pugh (27).
For those counting, that’s an average age of 26.6.
Was signing Solder (who was 29 at the time) that next offseason to a four-year, $62 million contract a good idea? No, it wasn’t and everyone knew that then. Hindsight views may have changed in recent years, but their was a collective notion that the Giants did what they needed to with Solder contract numbers be damned. They couldn’t enter the season with Flowers at left tackle and needed to upgrade at any cost.
The debate can rage whether or not Solder was an upgrade over Flowers (hint: he was), but context matters. It’s easy to argue against the decision now, but precious few were doing it then.
Still, there’s no denying that the success or failure of the offensive line fails squarely on Gettleman’s shoulders. He promised to fix the “hog mollies” upon his arrival and so far, that has not happened. Pro Football Focus ranked the Giants’ offensive line 31st in the NFL last season and that does not reflect well any way you slice it.
But old? No. The Giants’ offensive line is anything but old.
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