Giants Offensive Line Threatens Season Before It Begins

The New York Giants made several moves this offseason to bolster their offensive line. They signed Jermaine Eluemunor and Jon Runyan Jr. early in the offseason and added guard Aaron Stinnie for depth. Once training camp was under way, they welcomed guard Greg Van Roten into town, too.

That was enough to make New York optimistic up front, even if its collection of veterans lacked the star power to elicit real upside.

After Saturday’s 10-6 loss to the New York Jets , though, it’s hard to feel as encouraged about the Giants’ play up front.

Early in the game, center John Michael Schmitz Jr. and tackle Evan Neal – the first-round pick turned backup tackle – left with injuries. As the clock struck zero on the preseason, neither injury is believed to be serious.

However, New York has an obvious lack of continuity up front, and that would only be exacerbated by missed practice time in the coming weeks. Assuming the starting lineup, from left to right, is Andrew Thomas, Runyan, Schmitz, Van Roten, and Eluemunor, the only pair to have played next to each other last season would be the right guard and right tackle, who did so with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023.

Schmitz missing any time at all would add to the concerns up front. If he, or either tackle, does get hurt this season, Saturday’s performance made it clear that the Giants would once again be in trouble.

Last year, offensive line injuries beleaguered the unit and played a significant role in destroying the momentum generated from the prior season’s playoff appearance. On Saturday, quarterback Tommy DeVito was sacked eight times.

Of course, that was without Andrew Thomas and any of the aforementioned free-agent signings. But Neal still looks lost in pass protection and backup left tackle Joshua Ezeudu looks like a candidate to play left guard sometime soon.

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The Giants have a surplus of competent linemen in the interior (especially if Schmitz develops appropriately). The tackle situation, though, is a hamstring pull away from catastrophe.

New York has two weeks to get healthy and get adjusted to its newfound starters up front. Anything less can have the Giants offense looking much like a sequel to last year’s catastrophe.