Over the better part of the last decade, offensive line play has been a liability for the New York Giants.
The offensive line was often blamed for the Giants’ lack of success at the tail end of Eli Manning’s career and now the same argument could be made for the development of Daniel Jones.
Every year, the Big Blue offensive line was supposed to be better but as it turned out, the temporary bandaids that Dave Gettleman hoped would fix the offensive line never worked out.
Even with the development of former first-round pick Andrew Thomas, the Giants’ offensive line rankings, according to Pro Football Network, is still expected to be in the bottom third of the league, at least according to their rankings:
23) New York Giants
“Big Blue hopes it’s set at tackle for the next decade after using top-10 picks on Andrew Thomas and Evan Neal. On the interior, Brian Daboll and OL coach Bobby Johnson are importing Buffalo’s “see what sticks approach.” There wasn’t much else they could do given New York’s tight cap situation, but it’s a philosophy that panned out for the Bills.
Daboll and Johnson brought Jon Feliciano over from Buffalo, signed Mark Glowinski from the Colts, and landed Joshua Ezeudu in the third round of the draft. Plus, the Giants have decent depth, as Max Garcia, Matt Peart, and Nick Gates have been multi-game starters in recent seasons.”
The Giants did, of course, select Evan Neal with the No. 7 overall pick in this year’s draft, which hopes to be another piece that could help be the long-term solution on the offensive line.
Thomas and Neal should be a formidable group on the offensive line. Although if Neal’s rookie season is anything like Thomas’ rookie year, it may take some time for Neal to develop.
The offense, in particular Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley, heads into a crucial season that could help determine the details of their next contract, and even who they might be playing for next season.
With the two young former first-round picks, the Giants could certainly be on their way to turning around their offensive line woes. Hopefully, for the sake of the success of this season, the offensive line can improve from last season and help get Barkley and the rest of the offense clicking.
