NY Giants Offensive Line Sees a Boost in Latest Positional Rankings

The state of the New York Giants' offensive line has long been one of the most significant issues lingering over their rebuilding period. As the 2025 NFL season rounds the first corner of the year with four games gone, there are some positive shades to be taken from the improving group.

If one remembers, the unit suffered another brutal year of injuries last season that turned them into a constant carousel that couldn’t adequately keep the Giants’ different weekly quarterbacks on their feet.

The landslide started with the loss of Andrew Thomas to a Lisfranc injury and rolled over to the interior of the starting line, with the result being 48 sacks allowed and a 28th-ranked pass blocking grade that sat in the league’s bottom third.

Many were also highly critical of the Giants not doing enough to revamp the composition of their offensive line room in the offseason, as they returned the same five starters, albeit Thomas didn’t rejoin the front until Week 3. A couple of their depth plans haven’t played up to snuff thus far, either.

With Week 5 looming and the franchise moving forward on the heels of their first win of the campaign, we’ve started to see some positive developments within the Giants’ pass protection and its impact on their overall offensive effort, which looked near its best in the upset victory over the Chargers.

Pro Football Focus is also recognizing the upward trajectory of the Giants' offensive line, giving it a slight boost from No. 28 to No. 24 among the league's 32 starting units in their latest positional rankings ahead of the upcoming slate of games this Sunday.

“With a rookie quarterback making his NFL debut, the Giants' offensive line needed to be at its best — but that wasn't exactly the case,” said Zoltan Buday.

“Although the unit surrendered only six pressures on 30 pass plays, four of those turned into sacks on Jaxson Dart.”

New York Giants offensive linemen John Michael Schmitz (61) and Jon Runyan (76). | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

The Giants have definitely shown signs of progress in how they’re holding up for the quarterback, even if the sacks category needs a brush-up in the coming weeks.

It was one of the few reasons they turned to Jaxson Dart after a mixed start to the season by Russell Wilson–to see if the draft pick’s mobility could sometimes overcome the shaky blocking in front of him.

That wasn’t the only plan that the Giants had, though, as using Dart’s legs would always be in the game plan as much as his arm would be after he flashed both as a top quarterback prospect at Ole Miss.

They needed to get the offensive line to rally around and provide the increased protection up front to afford him the time to unleash his athleticism and confidence.

While the passing game wasn’t as strong as it could have been against the Chargers, we were able to see the rushing element come into play all afternoon, including when Dart took off from just inside the redzone threshold and scampered his way into the endzone for one of the Giants' two six-point scores.

The most significant kudos go to the offensive line, whose five starters were all together in a complete game for the first time this season. The Giants took the snap count off left tackle Andrew Thomas and let him do his thing on the blind side, leading to another classic zero-pressure day on his resume.

As the rest of the campaign unfolds, it will be critical for the Giants to keep Thomas healthy and available for as many snaps as he can handle.

Recent history has shown that pass protection improves significantly with the presence of an All-Pro, and he continued to demonstrate why he is so indispensable to the success of a rookie gunslinger still growing as a pro.

Moreover, what was impressive was the improvement from the interior, particularly on the left side, with center John Michael Schmitz and guard Jon Runyan.

The two men had been labeled as weak spots on the Giants’ line in the initial weeks and were big reasons why they allowed 13+ pressures in their games against the Cowboys and Chiefs in the previous two contests.

In 78 snaps against Los Angeles, the two players answered the bell to step up their games, allowing just one recorded pressure to their names.

While the Giants did give up a few sacks in the contest, it came down more to holding onto the ball too long by Dart than getting his time in the pocket blown up via direct pressure.

It seems unlikely that the Giants will roll forward with the same starting five next season, but it was nice to see an uptick from two pieces that have been skating on thin ice with their jobs.

Schmitz needs to show he can handle the inside gaps in his game this season, and Runyan could be replaced long-term as he becomes a free agent after the 2026 season.

The Giants could also have some moving parts this offseason with a few big names set to test the open market, such as Evan Neal, Greg Van Roten, and Jermaine Eluemunor. Identifying which pieces could be beneficial for the long term is a key goal for the front office for the remainder of the year.

Following this past Sunday’s relatively strong outing, which has New York jumping up the league order in the trenches, they might start to find those answers as the group can gel together and establish familiarity with the team’s scheme.

They say an offense is only as good as its offensive line, and the Giants’ unit looks to take another leap forward as they head to New Orleans and face a lackluster pass rush in the Saints.

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