East Rutherford, N.J.: Joe Judge will never say anything bad about any of his players publicly, and that was the case Wednesday when he was asked by a reporter why veteran right tackle Nate Solder, who, according to Pro Football Focus, leads all Giants offensive linemen this season with 30 pressures allowed, is still starting ahead of second-year player Matt Peart.
"We're pleased with the way Nate's progressed throughout this year and how he's playing for us right now," Judge said. "He's a guy who comes out and works tirelessly."
And what of Peart, whom one would think is the future at right tackle with Solder's contract set to end after this season?
"Matt's doing a good job progressing as well. We'll look to involve him as well. We're using Matt in a lot of jumbo tight end type situations and expand on his role there. We worked early in the year on some guard stuff. Really his home at tackle is where he's progressing. But he's giving us contributions along the way as we go."
Judge's handling of the offensive line is in stark contrast to last season when split the game snaps between players t certain spots. Last year, Peart, the team's third-round pick out of UConn, split reps at right tackle Cameron Fleming as Solder opted out of last year due to COVID-19.
This year, Judge has been devoted to having Solder in the lineup, for better or for worse, and, except for giving Peart snaps when there has been an injury at either tackle, the youngster can't seem to crack into the offensive line's lineup.
"Talking specifically about Matt, we do expect him to play throughout different situations in different games," Judge said. "Nate's taken the lion's share of a lot of reps, but Matt is always going to be prepared and expected to play."
When asked if he needs to see anything more for Peart, Judge said, "No, we just expect all of our players to come out and work hard every day and improve."
Make of Judge's response what you will. Still, considering how last year the rotation was put in place because the team was trying to see what they had in certain players, it sure does sound as though the coaches trust Solder, despite his struggles, more than they do Peart, who has nine pressures in 219 pass-blocking snaps, at this point.
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