Giants Fans Vote on Most Important Off-season Move Team Must Make
The New York Giants find themselves as a team burdened with many personnel decisions that need to be addressed, some weighing more heavily than the rest.
Among them, the most important focus for general manager Joe Scheon and the front office could be addressing the progressive issue that has been the team’s offensive line. While some might point to other positions as a cause for the Giants' failures over the past several seasons, it’s the front line that continues to be the core of all that has gone wrong for New York, especially throughout the 2023 season that ended in a dismal 6-11 fashion.
Not surprisingly, in Giants Country publisher Patricia Traina's latest fan poll, over 52 percent of the voters believe that fixing the offensive line will significantly affect how the team performs in 2024.
The offensive line rebuild has already begun with the addition of former Raiders offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo, who replaced Bobby Johnson in the same role. Under Johnson, the 2023 Giants' offensive line finished with 85 sacks allowed (second most in league history since sacks were a tracked stat) and finished 24th and 31st in pass and run blocking win rates, respectively.
The coaching change was a start, but now comes the question of the talent, or lack thereof, in some spots. Short of their one true stalwart in left tackle Andrew Thomas and their promising young center in John Michael Schmitz, the Giants have questions that need to be answered regarding both guard spots and right tackle, where Evan Neal, their 2022 first-round pick, has yet to show progress justifying his draft pedigree.
How might the Giants address the offensive line? The draft class has some solid prospects, but considering this unit needs to hit the ground running, the veteran route might be the best way to approach it. Additions like Mike Onwenu of the Patriots and Jermaine Eluemunor, both of whom offer guard/tackle flexibility, could be options.
The Giants could also look to what they already have in the hopes that Bricillo will get them back on track as far as young guards like Joshua Ezeudu, a third-round pick, and Marcus McKethan, a fifth-rounder, both from the 2022 draft class, who have been inconsistent with what limited snaps they've received.
Most of their returning players do not boast consistent blocking metrics outside of Thomas—who ranked 11th in pass block win rate by an offensive tackle last season—and were either hunkered down by injuries or kept to the sidelines last season and aren’t ready for immediate starting service.
Yet, the poll results seem to recognize that no matter what personnel is out there to protect the backfield, it hasn’t translated to sufficient results for the rest of the offense.
The Giants finished last season ranked 26th or worse in almost all passing categories, including 31st in total yards and 30th in yards per attempt. If they replace Barkley in the offseason, it doesn’t account for him keeping them within the middle of the league in rushing despite averaging just 4.1 yards per attempt, which was even lower on a game-to-game basis.
Undoubtedly, the Giants brass are looking into all the options for restocking their roster the right way to fit all needs. Quarterback and Barkley seem to be the focal points of outside discussion, but the offensive line cannot afford to be pushed to the wayside again.
