What Does Jon Feliciano Bring to an Offensive Line?
The Giants continued to add veteran experience to their offensive line with the signing of former Buffalo Bills guard Jon Feliciano. Feliciano made 35 starts with Buffalo over the last three seasons, but he eventually was squeezed out of the starting lineup, making him expendable this offseason.
When the Bills released him, many believed that his next stop would be with the Giants because of his familiarity with new Giants head coach Brian Daboll and offensive line coach Bobby Johnson. Feliciano could have filled a need for the Giants as a left guard, but it looks as though he will play center with the Giants.
Feliciano has come a long way since the 2015 NFL draft when the Raiders were criticized for taking him in the fourth round. He brings a very valuable trait to the Giants; familiarity. He will be the guy in the offensive line meeting that helps with understanding the terminology of Daboll’s offensive system.
He can also explain the concepts of the offense and assist the rest of the offensive linemen in learning the intricacies of the offense. You usually see a signing like this happen whenever a new head coach or coordinator takes over a team: They want to ensure that they have some guys who can operate as leaders on the field, especially at practice, to be an extension of the coaching staff.
Feliciano doesn't come without concerns. He suffered a rotator cuff injury and subsequent surgery, then a pectoral muscle tear. Those in nurseries probably led to the production dip that didn't allow him to regain his starting position when healthy.
The good news for the Giants is that he will probably be the healthiest he's been in some time, and he will still be motivated to prove he can regain the form he enjoyed before the injuries that plagued him in Buffalo.
Strength: Versatility and Pass Protection
Feliciano has experience playing both guard positions and center. His pass protection should be good after coming from an offense he is familiar with that had a lot of success in the passing game. He has good footwork and can slide step, kick step, and post step. He works well against stunts and has excellent change of direction.
One of his best traits is handling the bull rush from the power defensive tackles. Being able to neutralize the penetration up the middle is essential to keeping the pocket clean. That is something that Giants struggled with over the last few seasons. This will allow a quarterback to step up when the speed rushers pressure him off the edge.
Weakness: Consistent run block aggression
It is not that Feliciano is bad at run blocking--it is that he lacks consistency in run blocking. He can control men and move them when properly dialed in, especially blocking at angles. He doesn’t always get the movement necessary from your guards to give the runner the advantage inside.
That results in an unclear picture that a back usually diagnoses as a closed hole, and he feels he needs to bounce outside. Every so often, you can see a certain level of "nasty" appear but not consistent enough.
This move isn't going to make waves like the Glowinski signing, but it does make a lot of sense. At worst, Feliciano is quality depth; at best, he's the starting center who holds down the fort for a year and allows the Giants to pluck a young center in the draft for the future.
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