Young talent is badly needed on the offensive line
The New York Giants offensive line was better in 2024 than it had been in 2023, but there is still work to be done. Let’s look at the line as we continue rolling through our position-by-position reviews of the Giants.
2024 review
The roster
Andrew Thomas, Jon Runyan Jr., John Michael Schmitz, Greg Van Roten, Jermaine Eluemunor, Josh Ezeudu, Aaron Stinnie, Evan Neal, Jake Kubas, Chris Hubbard, Tyre Phillips, Austin Schlottman, Joshua Miles
On ‘Hard Knocks’ we saw Giants GM Joe Schoen insist that he needed the money running back Saquon Barkley wanted to invest in fixing an offensive line that had been horrific in 2023.
Give Schoen credit for sticking to that plan, and for doing a reasonably good job using those resources.
Schoen signed three starters who played well in 2024:
- Guard Jon Runyan Jr. (three years, $30 million, $17 million guaranteed)
- Tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (two years, $14 million, $6.75 million guaranteed)
- Guard Greg Van Roten (one year, $3 million, $920,000 guaranteed)
Schoen also added veteran guard Aaron Stinnie to a one-year, $1.152 million deal with just $100,000 guaranteed).
In all, those four signings took roughly $25 million in 2024 cap space.
Schoen’s free-agent signings were not the issue with the Giants offensive line in 2024. The biggest issue was that the Giants gambled by doubling down on the same backup left tackle plan that failed miserably in 2023 by insisting that Josh Ezeudu was capable of backing up Andrew Thomas.
He wasn’t.
When Thomas suffered a season-ending Lisfrance injury it really took one quarter of one game to show the folly of that idea. The Giants replaced Ezeudu after one game with journeyman Chris Hubbard, a true right tackle plucked off the San Francisco 49ers practice squad. He wasn’t good, either, and the Giants finally moved Eluemunor to left tackle — against his wishes — and inserted Evan Neal at right tackle.
Late-season injuries to Runyan and center John Michael Schmitz also hurt the group.
The Giants surrendered 48 sacks, which was 11th-most in the league, a year after surrendering a league-worst 85. Their Pro Football Focus team pass blocking grade of 57.6 was significantly better than their league-worst 43.4 grade in 2023.
In run blocking, the Giants improved from a 40.9 PFF grade in 2023 to 59.7 in 2024.
The Giants went from a league-low 3.35 Adjusted Line Yards in 2023 to 4.17 in 2024, which was 21st.
So, there was improvement.
2025 outlook
There are four priorities for the line in 2025.
- Enter the season with a real backup swing tackle plan. Maybe that could be Eluemunor if the Giants add a high-caliber starting right tackle. Eluemunor, though, had an excellent season and replacing him as a starter on the right side should not be a priority. Maybe Tyre Phillips can be that player, but he is really a right tackle/guard. It would be nice if they had a veteran on the roster who had shown proof of concept during his career that he can play left tackle adequately.
- Draft some young talent. Schoen has drafted four offensive linemen. Schmitz looks like an average starter, at best. The other three — Ezeudu, Marcus McKethan, Evan Neal — have not helped. The Giants did not draft any offensive linemen in 2024. That has to change. The veteran offensive line should be OK in 2025, provided good health. The Giants need some young talent in the pipeline that they can develop. Maybe Chris Snee, hired by the team as a senior scout with a focus on collegiate offensive linemen, can help.
- Figure out right guard. Van Roten has an excellent season, but he will be 35 and is a free agent. Can he be depended upon again?
- Make Evan Neal a guard. It’s time to give up the quest to prove he is an NFL right tackle. He’s not. He is, though, a 6-foot-7, 350-pound man who showed in his 2024 playing time that he can be a dominant run blocker. Maybe he is the answer at right guard. Maybe it’s Jake Kubas. Maybe it’s a rookie draft pick. If Neal objects to playing guard, move on. Trade him for whatever you can get and let someone else figure out what to do with him.
