The New York Giants have had offensive line issues dating back to 2012 with the unit bottoming out last season, allowing 85 total sacks, the second-most in NFL history.
The group was so bad that all three quarterbacks — Daniel Jones, Tyrod Taylor, and Tommy DeVito — suffered injuries. Jones’ season ultimately ended with a torn ACL.
It was — and has been — impossible for the quarterbacks to function, skewing any evaluation of the players, most notably Jones. But that hasn’t stopped his critics from barking, claiming that DJ should be able to elevate the MASH unit and raise the level of play for the entire offense.
Those critics often use Patrick Mahomes as an example of a player who could do such a thing.
Giants general manager Joe Schoen strongly disagrees.
During the first episode of the HBO sports docuseries “Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants,” which premiered on Tuesday night, Schoen admitted that the team’s offensive line was so dismal in 2023 that even Mahomes couldn’t have survived.
“All season, the four guys, your core guys that are going to play together, played less than 60 snaps together. Miami, we got (expletive) three practice squad guys playing for us. Nobody can (expletive) — you could have Pat Mahomes, he can’t (expletive) win behind that,” Schoen said.
Schoen, who signed Jones to a four-year, $160 million contract, added that he’s “not giving up” on the 27-year-old.
In an effort to better protect Jones in 2024, Schoen went out and signed Jon Runyan Jr., Jermaine Eluemunor, Matt Nelson, Austin Schlottmann, and Aaron Stinnie. The team will also return Andrew Thomas, Evan Neal, and Johnson Michael Schmitz, all of whom missed time due to injury last season.
