The Giants haven’t been cheap, but is it worth it?
The New York Giants offensive line is always a topic of conversation among media and the Giants’ fanbase.
The team has seemingly been “rebuilding” their offensive line for the last decade, and the unit is often blamed for the team’s struggles. And while things are rarely as simple as they may appear in the moment — the line has certainly contributed the Giants’ struggles over the years.
GM Joe Schoen has certainly devoted resources to building a reliable offensive line. He spent high draft picks on Evan Neal, Josh Ezeudu, and John Michael Schmitz, as well as spending to retaining Andrew Thomas, and free agents like Jon Runyan Jr., Jermaine Eluemunor, and Greg Van Roten.
All told, per the 33rd team and OverTheCap, the Giants have the third-most expensive offensive line in the NFL.
Teams sparing no expense to keep their QBs upright ️
H/T @Jason_OTC pic.twitter.com/4cgAUkrrZf
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) June 1, 2025
Nobody can say that the Giants aren’t investing in their offensive line. The question is whether they’re getting their money’s worth.
Looking at the overall performance of the unit last year, the answer would be “no”. The Giants were 26th in pass block win rate and 27th in run block win rate by the end of the 2025 season.
A year ago, a significant contingent of Giants’ fans said that they would be happy if the team managed to field a league-average offensive line. And there’s an argument that they did just that.
At least when the starting unit was intact and looked like this:
LT – Andrew Thomas
LG – Jon Runyan Jr.
C – John Michael Schmitz
RG – Greg Van Roten
RT – Jermaine Eluemunor
Prior to the line being ravaged by injury, the Giants’ Pass Block Win Rate was 17th in the NFL to start the season, and peaked at 13th by Week 9. They were also averaging 114 yards per game on the ground after switching from Devin Singletary to Tyrone Tracy. Not only was that a modest improvement over Saquon Barkley’s 110 yards per game in 2023, but would have been good for 15th in the NFL if they had managed to sustain it for the rest of the year.
In other words, they were league average.
By the end of the year, the line was unrecognizable. This is the unit that started Week 18 against the Philadelphia Eagles:
LT – Jermaine Eluemunor
LG – Aaron Stinnie
C – Greg Van Roten
RG – Jake Kubas
RT – Tyre Phillips
But now the Giants look to have four of their five starters (Thomas, Runyan Jr., Schmitz, and Eluemunor) back on the field and at their natural positions. The fifth spot is apparently up for grabs, and the Giants would likely love for Evan Neal, Joshua Ezeudu, Jake Kubas, or Marcus Mbow to take Van Roten’s job.
The line should be far better than it was in the second half of 2024. But the question remains whether the Giants will get their money’s worth.
Andrew Thomas is, frankly, a steal at $21 million. He’s still only 26 years old and is one of the best left tackles in the NFL (when healthy). Likewise, the salaries of Runyan Jr. and Eluemunor are reasonable for street free agent contracts. The big question for the unit — as always seems the case — is health. Each of the Giants’ most expensive linemen are worth the money as long as they’re on the field. They just need to stay there.
The other aspect is young players stepping up. John Michael Schmitz and Evan Neal are both in “Make or Break” seasons, and the Giants very much need them to prove worth the draft capital invested in them.
So what do you think, Giants fans? Even if the Giants don’t have a Top 3 offensive line, will the unit prove worthy of what’s been invested in it?
