New York Giants left guard Will Hernandez is entering his third NFL season. He should be heading into his prime as a professional and many believe he could get some Pro Bowl recognition after a down sophomore campaign.
“Left guard Will Hernandez has not developed as expected, grading at just 58.4 last year to rank 57th out of 89 qualifiers, though he could be a classic Year 3 breakout candidate after a dominant college career at UTEP,” wrote Pro Football Focus’ Steve Palazzolo.
But that breakout will dependent on everything going right for the Giants up front — something that hasn’t happened in quite some time.
Instead of forging forward, the Giants are expecting Hernandez and their other guard, veteran Kevin Zeitler, to anchor a line that could consist of three new faces, all or some of which could be rookies.
Hernandez will be playing alongside a new left tackle after veteran Nate Solder opted out due to coronavirus concerns. Solder’s replacement could be a number of players this year: first round pick Andrew Thomas, third round pick Matt Peart, veteran Cam Fleming or Nick Gates, the Giants’ new swing-man du jour.
On his right, Hernandez could be playing next to a number of players. Veteran Spencer Pulley is the current starter but the Giants appear to want to move on from him. Gates will see snaps there this summer as will the team’s fifth round selection in this year’s NFL Draft, Shane Lemieux.
Hernandez, who has started all 32 games at left guard since the Giants selected him in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft, spoke with the Giants beat pool via Zoom on Monday.
Hernandez, who was coached by Hal Hunter over his first two seasons as a Giant, will have a new offensive line coach — Marc Colombo, a former NFL lineman who coached the Dallas Cowboys’ line the past two seasons.
Hernandez relates to Colombo. “He gets it,” Hernandez said.
Will Hernandez on OL Coach Colombo: It's awesome having somebody that's actually been there, done that. He definitely has a lot of inside information…He's one of us, one of the guys.
— Dan Salomone (@NYGsalomone) August 10, 2020
Hernandez also said that he knows how to treat rookies. He learned from Solder, a class act, who showed him the ropes when he was rookie. He will now do the same for Thomas and the other rookies in the offensive line room.
In addition, Hernandez said he is already impressed with Thomas.
#Giants #Hernandez on Thomas – he's a great guy…really smart guy, gets things right away….
— GiantsWFAN (@giantswfan) August 10, 2020
Hernandez claims he has put his disappointing performance last year in the past and has learned from his mistakes.
“There’s a new attitude for everything,” he said.
Hernandez also admitted that he doesn’t just like offensive coordinator Jason Garrett’s new offense, he “loves” it. He also said that two years of losing has made him concentrate more on winning and it all will start with dominant play on the offensive line.
Will Hernandez: The offensive line has a big, big role in our success. We'll proudly carry the workload and get things done.
— Dan Salomone (@NYGsalomone) August 10, 2020
If the rest of the offensive line shares the same emotion and determination that Hernandez exhibited on Monday, the Giants will likely be in good hands going forward.
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