Offensive Line

     Nothing screams football more than the offensive line. Five big players constantly clash with an opposing defense to clear a path for a running back or give a quarter-back time to throw. The O-line is about overpowering and manipulating a defensive line to benefit the offense. No team can survive with a below-average offensive line, as showcased in Super Bowl 55 where the Kansas City Chiefs offensive line was depleted and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made Patrick Mahomes very uncomfortable. The Giants have struggled in this department for the past 10+ years after winning Super Bowl 46 over the New England Patriots. However, due to the sheer amount of players on the offensive line, I'm going to quickly go over the starting five and then dive into 3 specific players.

    The Giants Offensive Line is comprised of 1x All-Pro Offensive Tackle Andrew Thomas, Left Guard Ben Bredeson, the rookie center out of Minnesota John Michael Schmitz, the veteran Right Guard Mark Glowinski, and the 2nd Year Offensive tackle Evan Neal. This certain lineup has not played together for more than a couple games due to injuries across the board. The lack of continuity for the line and bad coaching led to a horrendous year ranking in the bottom five for pass and run blocking. Although this offensive line is terrible, there is a lone bright spot

Who is that lone bright spot I speak of? Well, it's none other than number 78, Andrew Thomas. Arguably the best player for Big Blue, Thomas has been stellar since his breakout during his second year. The Georgia product struggled in the first half of his rookie year in 2020 but improved for the second half of the season. In his second year, his progress really started to show, with all his hard work culminating in an All-Pro second-team nod at the end of his third year. Last off-season Thomas signed a 5-year 117.5 million dollar extension with the Giants, locking him up for the long term. This past season Thomas got injured on a blocked field goal in week one against the Cowboys which kept him out for around half the season. Despite this, the injury still hindered him when playing Thomas was as dominant as ever despite it being obvious. Thomas is a top tackle in the league when he plays and will anchor this offensive line for years to come.

A different kind of segment for this post is going to be me analyzing some clips of one player. Today I'm going to go over how Andrew Thomas is so good with a little help from the video above. Why is Andrew Thomas so good? What makes him All-Pro caliber? Well Thomas has a very fast and precise setup for his pass block. He kick steps fast but he doesn't lose control and makes the defender make a move. In the third highlight in the video you can see Thomas easily match the defender and stuff him. Along with this precision and technique, Thomas has great power and control over his body. He can easily gain the advantage against the defender. I don't have the clip but I remember watching a Giants Rams game a couple seasons ago and on one play Thomas easily handled Aaron Donald, one of the best defensive players the game has ever seen. Thomas is a very smart player, he knows what he has to do to guide the defender in a way he wants them to go. All of this culminates in an offensive tackle who can stop almost anyone, and shows why he is an All-Pro caliber player. Credit to Davis S for the highlight video I used.

    Next up we have Evan Neal, the second-year product out of Alabama. Pre-Draft Neal was considered a top-end talent, leading to his selection by the Giants with the 7th overall pick in 2022. However, his first two years have not gone as expected. Neal allowed 7 sacks in 13 games in his rookie year and allowed 2 sacks in 7 games this past year. That's not the worst of it, he has allowed many pressures, QB hits, and messed up blocks more times than I can count. Whether all the blame is on Neal, the Giant's former offensive line coach Bobby Johnson, or more likely both, Neal has certainly not panned out just yet. Enough of the negatives as there are some positives. Neal has the size to be a dominant tackle and the arm length. If he doesn't pan out at tackle, he could feasibly be moved to guard instead. Not to mention the Giants have a new offensive line coach who did wonders for the Raiders line the past few seasons. I've seen plenty of Giants fans harp on Neal, but I won't write him off. From personally watching him, Neal has shown good things such as his drop step and power. He needs to work on his technique, and continuity at right guard would also help. The door for Neal has yet to be shut, Big Blue will be waiting to see what happens next with him.

    The final current player for the Giants I'll be analyzing is the rookie center out of Minnesota, John Michael Schmitz. Schmitz was ranked by most as tied for the top center in the 2023 NFL draft, some even had him as a 1st round pick. Schmitz would fall to the mid-second round in which the Giants would then select the Gopher product. Playing only 13 games this past year, Schmitz showed minor improvement over the course of the season. He wasn't the best out there but I wouldn't say he was bad. You could argue his development was stunted by O-line coach Bobby Johnson who was fired a few weeks ago. Being a 2nd round pick, Schmitz does have high expectations but as a center he doesn't have to be the best out there. Hopefully Schmitz can improve going into his second year in 2024.    As far as additions this off-season are concerned, there are multiple avenues the Giantes can take. One many would like is for the Giants to draft a top offensive tackle wit the 6th overall pick. The two guys people want them to take are Joe Alt (Tackle out of Notre Dame) and Olu Fashanu (Tackle out of Penn State). Both of these guys are going to be stellar line-man but in my opinion the Giants shouldn't take either of them. No team has spent more high-value draft capital on the O-line than the Giants have in recent years. Two top 10 picks, a second-round pick, and a third-round pick plus money spent in free agency. I personally believe the Giants should look to improve the line in free agency with a guard like Robert Hunt from the Miami Dolphins, who is a good veteran guard who should be able to help out Evan Neal. Overall the Giants O-line is in a weird spot right now and their future is unknown. Next time I'll be going over the Giants Tight End situation, thank you for reading this week's blog.