The New York Giants lost a heartbreaker in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys. A 40-37 overtime result tarnished a valiant effort from a Giants’ offense that mustered just six points in Week 1 against Washington. There were plenty of positive takeaways from the loss, though; one being the performance of rookie fifth-round pick Marcus Mbow.
Mbow was forced into action after a catastrophic meltdown from James Hudson III — a veteran free-agent addition in the off-season. Hudson III committed four penalties on the Giants’ opening drive, and quite possibly prevented an explosive touchdown to Darius Slayton:
Hudson III was benched after the drive and Mbow — who spent a significant portion of training camp at right tackle — relieved the $6 million-a-year investment. Mbow comported himself well; he wasn’t perfect, but was a marked improvement over the veteran.
Here are all Marcus Mbow’s snaps from Week 2:
My two targets on Day 3 of the 2025 NFL Draft were Cam Skattebo and Marcus Mbow. I was pleased when the Giants were able to select both. Here is my pre-draft analysis of Mbow:
Marcus Mbow is an undersized offensive lineman with short arms, but he overcomes those physical deficiencies with athleticism, intelligence, and competitive toughness. He’s very nimble and quick on his feet, with an explosive nature to his game. He takes good angles of attack with elite adjustment ability, due to his hip mobility and his controlled movement skills. Mbow must improve his anchor in pass protection, and could stand to be more patient and use his hands more effectively. Overall, his athletic ability can be an asset, but he must iron parts of his game out while adding more sand in his pants if he’s going to be successful in the NFL.
I was unsure how Mbow would hold-up at tackle prior to the draft. He has 32-inch arms (1st percentile) and an 80-inch wingspan (13th percentile), while weighing in at 303 pounds (15th percentile). Those size limitations carry concern. Still, Mbow’s abilities, especially his smooth feet, are more than capable of earning a realistic shot at tackle, as the Giants saw.
Mbow had a 59.3 PFF grade, which was second best on the offensive line behind Jermaine Eluemunor. Mbow surrendered two pressures. After the game, head coach, Brian Daboll said:
“There are things to clean up, but he’s a young professional who has worked on his craft.”
Daboll is correct. There were a lot of positive takeaways, but the rookie’s anchor and framing were not perfect; we’ll go through that, and his impressive reps, below.
Pass protection
[Marcus Mbow is No. 71 and is playing left tackle.]
We’ll start with the two pressures surrendered. One was on a botched LB/end twist pick-up and the other, unfortunately, transpired on Russell Wilson’s interception.
First, Mbow has a quick and explosive kick-slide with feather-like feet — that’s obvious from his film. However, he did not anticipate the hammer. His handling of the linebacker on the twist was hindered by the initial push from the wide defender, who knocked Mbow back a bit. Mbow attempted to refit his hands after Kenny Clark (95) won inside with his push; upon sinking his hips, and trying to fit inside, rusher Dante Fowler Jr. blindsides the rookie and squeezes through the B-Gap to earn a hurry against Russell Wilson.
Handling of twists and stunts will come with time and the developed cohesion through reps with his teammates. But his issue on this second pressure is more consistent with his troubles in college. Mbow’s anchor against power-rushers can be exploited. I wouldn’t say it’s horrible, but Mbow is susceptible to being put on skates, albeit he often does a good job reestablishing leverage and getting his feet under him.
Still, his anchor, coupled with his poor measurables, was likely part of why he fell to the fifth round. I do want to applaud how Mbow recovered after the initial power, but the pressure surrendered may have altered Russell Wilson’s decision-making. However, Mbow should not be held responsible for that interception.
Other anchor issues
I am not insinuating that these are terrible reps by Mbow. Although ground is conceded, he kept the defender in front of him. I do, however, feel it’s important to acknowledge the anchor issue, for it’s a persistent trend. It’s something that may improve with time — he hasn’t started an NFL game yet. All in all, this is not a terrible rep against Fowler Jr., but it’s against a more finesse rusher (from a wider angle) rather than someone more known for power on this third-and-5.
Mbow surrendered the inside against this initial power vs. Marshawn Kneeland (94), who adjusts his hands his opens the hips of Mbow with strong push. Mbow does, though, match Kneeland quickly with his pass-set. Whether it’s a 45-degree, jump, or vertical set — Mbow’s feet are quick and typically precise.
Impressive pass protector
Mbow may need some added strength; nevertheless, he does a very good job keeping the defender in front of him while reestablishing leverage. One of my favorite plays from Mbow was the 48-yard touchdown reception by Malik Nabers:
Mbow controls the top of the arc here against Fowler Jr., and you see him display torque control to win and over-power the veteran pass-rusher. He had a similar rep late against Sam Williams below:
Mbow exhausts the rush and then muscles Sam Williams (54) highside before flipping his hips and driving him away from the pocket. Mbow can dictate reps and vary his attack upon approach or he can be patient, like we see below:
The ability to vary one’s attack is a precocious skill-set for a tackle. Fowler Jr. attempted to spin after failing to win high-side, but Mbow tosses him to the deck with total control.
Later in the game, in a must have it situation, Mbow handles Fowler easily up the arc and turns the veteran around. Mbow stays in front of Fowler Jr. and disallows the edge defender any space to attack inward; Mbow forced him high and away. Kneeland attempts to work inside on this to Nabers below:
I love how Mbow frames, adjusts, and stays in front of pass rushers. His feet are quick; he tries to jump-set and then showed the ability to gain more depth before engaging and steer/controlling Kneeland at the point of attack. Mbow’s feet and hands work well in conjunction with each other and he’s handling responsibilities on an island.
The hand adjustment and ability to sit back on his hips prior to the help from Jon Ruyan Jr. (76). That was a power rush move from Fowler Jr., easily controlled by the rookie.
James Houston (53) gets tied up on his power-rush move against Mbow. It appears Houston attempts to win through the inside shoulder of Mbow with a hump move that attempts to out-leverage one-side of a blocker by using one’s momentum against them with a sudden movement inward. Houston’s efforts are stopped.
Run game
Mbow is more successful as a pass protector than he is as a run blocker at this point in his career, but the rookie still plays with a mean streak and isn’t devoid of strength despite his weight.
Mbow does a very good job getting hip-to-hip with Runyan on this DUO double-team run where the two are attempted to displace the three-technique. Mbow does an excellent job staying low into contact and assuming the full-block, which allowed Runyan to climb up to the linebacker. Athletic positioning and excellent control by Mbow.
Mbow’s pre-snap split is significantly wider than the rest of the offensive lineman, and he is tasked to prevent Kneeland from collapsing the three hole in the B-Gap off the double team from John Michael Schmitz (61) and Runyan. Once Kneeland extends his arm and starts to control the gap, Skattebo cruises past him for the touchdown.
Another well-executed scoop block on a double-team from Mbow, who positions himself well and assumes control of the block. Mbow swivels his hips between the rushing lane and Clark, bringing the veteran to the deck; a very savvy play by Clark, who obviously held Runyan from climbing up to the second level — no call.
It’s a difficult block to execute for Mbow — a scoop on the backside of a 2i-shade in split-zone, especially against a veteran like Kenny Clark. Mbow can’t secure the pass-off from Runyan and Clark hit Cam Skattebo (44) in the backfield.
Mbow could do a better job on backside runs, just sustaining blocks long-enough to deter an impact from a backside pursuit defender. Here’s an example of that:
Final thoughts
Mbow is smooth and comfortable in every type of pass-set. He quickly jumps and can dictate or be patient; his kick-slide is explosive and his ability to mirror is controlled and adaptive; and he also gains good depth on vertical sets, while protecting the inside and staying framed. He is an adept pass protector with good hands and feet, but his anchor is one issue that could be a problem against stronger competition.
He only had 15 run blocking snaps. He had some ups and some downs. Still, this was a solid performance from Mbow, who did not receive first-team work in practice this week. He filled in well for the pugnacious and ineffective Hudson. Mbow should start next week if Andrew Thomas remains out.
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