The New York Giants’ offensive line did not play up to par in 2023. They were among the worst units in the NFL, and many factors played into that. Injuries to stars such as left tackle Andrew Thomas hurt, as they were starting practice squad players at spots throughout the season.
But, the injuries are not solely to blame. Even when healthy, this was a group that underwhelmed. Looking to make a change, the Giants fired offensive line coach Bobby Johnson, bringing in Carmen Bricillo, formerly of the Las Vegas Raiders.
There is a lot of high-upside talent for Bricillo to work with and the Giants are hopeful he can get the most out of these players. They have top-10 picks at tackle with Thomas and Evan Neal and a second-round pick was used on center John Michael Schmitz. With upgrades at guard expected in the offseason, Bricillo has a good base to work with.
New York will certainly need a better performance from the offensive line if they want any chance of turning things around offensively in 2024. In 2023, the team gave up 85 sacks, making it difficult for any quarterback to operate.
While a lot of the blame was placed on the offensive line, and rightfully so, those 85 sacks were not only their fault. Sacks are sometimes a quarterback stat as well, as the better ones can evade pressure and make a play even with the base rush bearing down on them. That kind of performance was absent from New York.
As shared by Ian Hartitz of MBFantasyLife on X, Giants quarterbacks had almost no success evading pressure. Undrafted free agent Tommy DeVito had the highest percentage of pressures being converted into sacks at 37 percent. Right behind him was Daniel Jones, who was at 32 percent.
Giving up pressures is not ideal, but that is something a quarterback needs to navigate to keep the offense on track. Two of the three quarterbacks the Giants started last season were incapable of that and it played a big part in the eye-popping sack numbers the team finished with.
On the opposite end of the spectrum were Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, with the lowest percentages. Joe Flacco, Jared Goff, Brock Purdy, Geno Smith and Jalen Hurts were all near the bottom as well.
It should come as no surprise that all of the teams they play for were in the playoff race right up until the end of the season and finished with records above .500. The Giants and all of the teams who had quarterbacks show up on the top of the list were under .500 and well out of the playoff race.
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