Why NY Giants Offensive Line is Still Its Biggest Remaining Need

With the New York Giants rookies set to report next week to training camp,  the 90-man roster is pretty much set and primed to have loads of competition across the board. 

But in terms of one particular unit, CBS Sports’ Josh Edwards believes that the one unit on the Giants that general manager Joe Schoen probably didn’t address enough just so happens to be its most critical outside of quarterback.

That would be the offensive line, of which Edwards justifiably questioned whether they have enough for a long-term plan for the group.  

"Who is a part of the long-term vision aside from Andrew Thomas and, perhaps, John Michael Schmitz?” Edwards noted. “The group should be better when completely healthy, but the sample size has not been large enough to prove that theory.”

Edwards is spot on with his take on the Giants' offensive line, which, for years, was devoid of viable young talent that was properly developed and ready to step in when an opening occurred. 

The Giants, just two offseasons ago, opted for the veteran route to address what has been an Achilles' heel for them for the better part of the last decade, adding Jon Runyan Jr., Greg Van Roten, and Jermaine Eluemunor to the mix.

While all three have been penciled in as starters for the coming season, it’s fair to wonder what the plan is beyond their respective contracts. 

In Eluemunor’s case, his contract ends after this season. While he could be re-signed, the team is hoping that Marcus Mbow, their fifth-round rookie draft pick this year, can develop into a potential replacement for Eluemunor should both sides fail to reach a contract extension.

At guard, Van Roten signed another one-year deal, and Runyon is signed through 2026, with the last of his guaranteed money expiring this year. 

If the team were to move on from Runyon after this season, they’d be looking at a $9.25 million cap savings with just a $2.5 million dead money hit. 

Runyon, 28 years old, is still young enough to have a good chance of finishing out his contract, but beyond that, it's a question mark.

The Giants are hoping that Evan Neal, their 2022 first-round draft pick, becomes the next Mekhi Becton, a player who successfully transitions from tackle to guard. Neal has finally embraced the move inside, but can he pull it off at a high enough level? 

As for the other guard spot, the team liked what it got from undrafted free agent Jake Kubas last year, a player whom they’re also grooming to play center. Perhaps he develops into that Van Roten role as a starting guard and backup center, but right now it’s too soon to say for sure that will happen. 

Edwards briefly mentioned Thomas, the left tackle, and Schmitz, the center, but one can’t necessarily assume they’re part of the long-term plan. 

Thomas has unfortunately developed a reputation for being injury-prone, and while the tea would like for him to achor the left tackle spot, Thomas’s guaranteed money ends this year and it certainly wouldn’t hurt for them to have a contingency plan should the injuries continue to rob him of those traits that make him so special.

Schmitz, meanwhile, has slowly developed in his role as starting center, a role that was handed to him with little to no competition two years ago. 

Although he is the least of the problems on the starting offensive line, it wouldn’t be unfair to state that he hasn’t quite lived up to his second-round draft pedigree, this partly due to a lack of physicality in his game and injuries, of which a shoulder issue has twice now cost him chunks of practice time, including last summer in training camp.

Yes, the Giants' offensive line is a significant concern ahead of training camp. While it’s certainly possible they have enough young depth in the hopper–and they also have a solid coaching duo in Carmen Bricillo and James Ferentz overseeing it–the question of whether they have enough talent to sustain them for the long term is certainly a valid one.