A Closer Look at Shane Lemieux's Debut as an NFL Starter

There have been many rookie performances that have created some excitement among the Giants faithful. Still, any time one of those performances has to do with a unit that has struggled to find consistency, such as the offensive line, all antennae are raised for potential breakthrough prospects.

Thus far, young Matt Peart, the third-round pick, has shown himself worthy of the rotation snaps he’s received thus far from the coaching snaps. And this past week, fifth-round pick Shane Lemieux also put together a solid showing filling in for Will Hernandez at left guard while the veteran recovers from COVID-19.

Here’s what head coach Joe Judge had to say about Lemieux’s performance after he watched the game film:

He definitely had a good first job out there, moving around and getting caught up with some things. There are some things to clean up with Shane, obviously. But I’ll tell you what, the level of competitiveness he plays with, some nasty, he definitely gave us some juice in there. Look, you line up for your first snap in the NFL, and you’re seeing Ndamukong Suh across from you right there, that’s a ‘welcome to the NFL, buddy.’ But this guy didn’t blink. He didn’t shy away from anything. He really answered the bell for us.

There was much to like about Lemieux’s debut. For one, he wasn’t a wild thing out there, something that offensive line coach Marc Colombo alluded to last week.

For the most part, Lemieux was efficient and in control and brought a level of feistiness that one can certainly equate to a young Rich Seubert.

Lemieux combines good power with a solid base, which means you’re probably not going to see him get walked back into the quarterback’s lap or moved off his mark.

He also has violent hands, meaning when he throws the first strike, the defender feels it. And Lemieux does a good job of locking onto his man and not falling off a block, showing the ability to drive defenders out of harm’s way.

The rookie also has surprisingly good mobility. He’s not the quickest afoot, but one of the things you want to see is him staying on his feet at contact. Lemieux showed an ability to get out to the second level, where he went looking for work, another feather in his cap.

Here is a good example from the first quarter. At the snap, he initially engages in a double team block but then rubs off the defender and gets out to the second level, where he takes a smart angle on yet another defender whom he pushes out of the way.

That hole created by Lemieux helps running back Wayne Gallman pick up 12 yards on a run up the middle.

In pass pro, something that stood out to me about Lemieux is his short, choppy backpedal.

Whereas some offensive linemen will take massive steps backward, resulting in a loss of balance and power, especially against speed, Lemieux’s short choppy steps enabled him to stay balanced and handle the quickness coming at him, such as on this clip.

Here’s one more clip from Lemieux’s debut as a starter that gives an even better idea of his power.

This play comes in the second quarter on Wayne Gallman’s 2-yard touchdown. Note how Lemieux wins his one-on-one battle.

Gallman plows ahead into that hole that’s between Lemieux and Andrew Thomas’s blocks (in retrospect, he might have had an easier go of it had he gone between Lemieux and center Nick Gates) and scores the Giants’ second score of the night.

PFF had Lemieux as giving up five total pressures (one hit and four hurries) in 49 pass-block snaps. The popular analytics site didn't give Lemieux positive grades, especially going hard on him with a 12.1 pass-block grade.

I don't claim to understand PFF's grading system even after reading how they grade pass protection. But I think the grade is a little harsh considering, among other things, that Lemieux had one less pressure than Andrew Thomas and Cam Fleming, both of whom graded in the 60s.

Lemieux, whose technique is still coming together, also delivered a solid showing that included a penalty-free game and a handful of solid plays that helped his team move the sticks. Isn't that what you want from your offensive linemen?

What I would agree with is the idea that he was better in run blocking, which is usually common for young offensive linemen since they're going forward in run blocking versus retreating in pass pro.

Moving forward, Judge indicated that he’s leaning toward having a rotation at guard—and not just at Hernandez’s spot either—once Hernadez gets back.

“Look, as far as the guard position, we plan on playing all three of those guys. The tackle position, the same thing, keep rolling all three of those guys and making sure that everyone is gaining experience and staying fresh as much as we could,” Judge said.

“And I say all the time guys, I plan on everyone who goes to the game playing for us. That’s not just lip service.”

No, it’s not, and it’s a big reason why the Giants offensive line will hopefully be better in seasons to come.

Clips via NFL Game Pass.