PFF: Giants O-line Among Most Improved in 2020

The start of the regular season is still months away, but Pro Football Focus is feeling bullish about the Giants offensive line thanks to the upgrades made by general manager Dave Gettleman to a unit that last season allowed the third-most quarterback hits in the league.

PFF’s Ben Linsey, in laying out his reasons behind the Giants’ No. 5 ranking, wrote:

It was clear the Giants could use an upgrade at the tackle position after last season. Nate Solder and Mike Remmers combined to allow 96 pressures in 2019, more than any other tackle duo in the NFL. While Solder is locked into the left tackle spot given his contract and the inability to move on without incurring $16 million in dead money, right tackle was a spot that clearly could be upgraded. As the top tackle on PFF’s Big Board, Thomas gives them that.

It still remains to be seen whether Thomas gets the starting nod at left tackle for Solder, a move that we’ve been advocating given the lack of a traditional off-season that would allow for players to cross-train at different positions in live drills.

But there’s little doubt that barring an injury, Thomas will be among the starting five offensive linemen.

The Giants’ biggest remaining question on the offensive line is at center. The most logical answer is to start Spencer Pulley at the position given his experience and given that he has a still relatively new quarterback (in terms of NFL experience) behind him in Daniel Jones.

But the team hasn’t ruled out inviting Jon Halapio, who is continuing his rehab from a torn Achilles suffered in the regular-season finale last year, back.

Several times this off-season, both Gettleman and head coach Joe Judge have mentioned Halapio's name, and it's believed they're going to check on him as training camp draws closer to see where he is at in his rehab.

The team also hasn't abandoned the idea of having Nick Gates compete for the job.

Gates played well enough last year when pressed into action at both tackle and guard, so there is no reason to think that this very astute and cerebral player couldn’t handle the center position at some point.

Again, given the unusual off-season which has stripped away the vital on-field work to support a position switch, it remains to be seen if Gates, who is believed to have taken some limited snaps in practice, could master the necessary techniques in time to anchor the offensive line for opening day in a brand new offensive scheme no less.

Gates is a smart player, and his performance last year, when pressed into action on the fly, should make Giants fans feel good about his chances. But the longer COVID-19 keeps NFL teams off the field, the more likely that this experiment might have to be put on hold.