The story has already been written and many New York Giants fans do not need a refresher. The team’s offensive line was among the worst in football last season, allowing 85 sacks.
While injuries largely factored into that futility, their troubles ran much deeper than that. Evan Neal failed to progress, then-rookie John Michael Schmitz wasn’t the “plug-and-play” prospect the Giants had hoped, and even when healthy, Andrew Thomas struggled at times.
In an effort to combat those issues, general manager Joe Schoen made the offensive line a focus of his during free agency, adding Jon Runyan Jr., Jermaine Eluemunor, Matt Nelson, Austin Schlottmann, and Aaron Stinnie to the fray.
Despite those additions, Pro Football Focus still views the Giants’ O-line as one of the worst in football.
29. NEW YORK GIANTS
The Giants’ offensive line was among the NFL’s worst in 2023, partially due to injuries. While they brought in a couple of new players in Jermaine Eluemunor and Jon Runyan to start at guard, they need their returners to improve drastically.
Center John Michael Schmitz Jr., a second-round pick in 2023, and right tackle Evan Neal, a top-10 pick in 2022, have been disappointing so far. Even left tackle Andrew Thomas staying healthy and getting back to his 2022 form wouldn’t make up for poor performances from the other young players on the line in 2024.
Eluemunor and Runyan should help significantly on the inside but the unit still depends on Neal, who may be up against his final chance at right tackle. If he continues to struggle — contrary to what the team says publicly — he’ll likely be benched or moved to guard in favor of Eluemunor.
No matter what, the Giants’ offensive line can’t be worse than it was in 2023. Right?
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