New York Giants Offensive Line Breakdown from Preseason Week 1

The New York Giants' offensive line was–wait for it–solid. Solid as in ZERO (yes, you read that correctly) sacks (out of 51 dropbacks), and only 10 quarterback pressures, per Pro Football Focus.

The best news of all is that it didn’t matter which combination the Giants had out there. Granted, the play of the quarterback had something to do with the lack of sacks and sprinkling of pressures, but the offensive line’s play across the board was one of the most positive developments to come before the preseason opener.

Let’s go ahead and zero in on the individual performances–what we liked and what we didn’t.

James Hudson III

Getting the start at left tackle with Andrew Thomas on the PUP list, Hudson played just the one series.

The bad news is that he committed two penalties in that single possession, one false start and one holding, though the holding call on a running play was a bit iffy.

Hudson certainly has this team made, as tackles don’t grow on trees. He has the size and the ability to play the position at an adequate level. He lacks the nifty lower body that all the good ones have.

Hudson has had a bit of a raucous summer camp, mixing things up physically consistently. Everyone loves feistiness in an offensive lineman.

This young man has been coming to work every day with his lunchpail in hand and a chip on his shoulder. We like that and are sure the coaches do as well.

Jermaine Eluemunor

Getting the start at right tackle, where he played just one series, Eluemunor looked sharp, nimble, and prepared. His pass-blocking movement looked to be in mid-season form, but the run-blocking, not so much.

Marcus Mbow

The quiet star of this week was this fifth-round rookie who played both tackle spots as if he’d been born to them.

We think he looked more comfortable on the weak side, especially with his pass-blocking. On the right side, we liked his run-blocking more.

Early on, Mbow was pushed back into his quarterback’s face, the ball being deflected due to the penetration, and a near-INT resulted. It was the rookie’s worst snap of the game, and it came early.

From that point on, his game improved. His feet off the snap were electric. He was dancing around out there on the edge like a 300-pound bear, completely swallowing up defenders with his mobility.

His hand punch was there too. We have questions about his power game. He's not big by NFL standards, but his athleticism, balance, and foot speed may be able to help him handle regular-season physicality.

Coming into the league, people supposed that an inside position would be Mbow’s best spot, but watching him look so comfortable at tackle sure makes one wonder.

Have the Giants stumbled onto a starting-quality tackle? It’s only one game, but this kid looks like the real deal.

Stone Forsythe

Getting some second-half right tackle snaps, Forsythe held up well, especially on the pass block. This is a very large man who can handle NFL power.

He lacks a certain niftiness for sure, but we’ve seen much less capable backups on this roster in the last decade, and we think Forsythe would be a starter on some of those teams.

Joshua Ezeudu

Did we see an improved Ezeudu manning that left tackle slot for several early snaps this week? We certainly did.

Our eyes may be deceiving us, but Ezeudu appears to be a much larger human being than in his recent incarnations. His game looked bigger, too.

His pass-blocking was pristine, while he moved adequately getting into some of his run blocks.

We realize he was facing backups out there, so it’s probably not a good idea to get too excited, but the way this entire O-line blocked for the pass (zero sacks) has us believing that maybe, just maybe, this long-time Achilles heel has finally been fixed.

Jon Runyan

The veteran, returning from last year’s season-ending shoulder injury, looked healthy enough, but he gave up an early pressure to power, which gives us pause. He played the one series and was otherwise solid and alert.

Greg Van Roten

Getting the start at right guard, where he’s destined to start come September, Van Roten’s power game was on full display as he stopped an interior pass rusher dead in his tracks.

The veteran’s reliability and smarts will always show up on game day, which is why he’ll get the starting nod until someone younger, stronger, and better comes along.

Jake Kubas

With Evan Neal a surprise (and disappointing) injury-related scratch, Kubas got the bulk of the second-team snaps at right guard.

On Jaxson Dart’s second-quarter touchdown throw, Kubas was beaten 1-on-1 and gave up a big hit on his quarterback. To be fair, was there supposed to have been inside help from the center, as it appeared?

Kubas isn’t at a point yet where he can allow miscommunications to blow up a play. His arms are too short, and he lacks a power component to his game. He gets by on his mobility and his smarts.

Other than that, Kubas had a solid game, but it wasn't stellar.

Aaron Stinnie

We thought Stinnie was the offense’s best backup guard this week. We didn’t spot a single miss in his play.

What we did notice was his physicality coming into play on several double-teams and finishing blocks. Stinnie was a force out there.

Jaison Williams

This rookie interior lineman got some late-game snaps at right guard and did not look out of place at all.

Williams looked most comfortable mixing it up in the run game. His pass-blocking wasn’t much challenged as he was able to stay in front of his man without much difficulty.

This young man has good size–we’d like to see more of him against better competition.

Bryan Hudson

Getting some early snaps at center, and then later on at right guard, this young veteran stayed on his feet well enough, but we didn’t think his movement skills were great.

He appears somewhat stiff in the lower body and lacks significant bulk. We like his versatility, but we’re not sure he’s athletic enough at this point in his development.

John Michael Schmitz

The team’s incumbent starter at center looked the part of a starting NFL center in his one series this week, a marked improvement over his play last season.

He moved very well with improved balance, and he seemed a bit bigger and stronger. We want to see a larger sample size, but suffice it to say, Schmitz looked worlds ahead of where he was last year.

Austin Schlottmann

Getting most of the backup snaps at center, Schlottmann was manhandled on several snaps and otherwise did not flash with his movements or athleticism.

This veteran is backup insurance for this roster. His smarts and experience in the league are pluses, but with Greg Van Roten able to play center, Schlottman might just have an uphill battle to stay on this roster.

Jimmy Morrissey

Another youngish veteran at center (Morrissey is 27 to Schlottmann’s 30), this player is also backup insurance. Morrissey played the entire fourth quarter over the ball and didn’t make any mistakes. However, he also did little to impress other than to just get in the defender’s way.

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