Giants Criticized for Offseason Plan at Key Position: ‘Did Very Little’

Giants’ offensive line still ranked dead last after offseason additions.

Getty The New York Giants took some flak for their lack of urgency at an area of need.

The New York Giants doubled down on three former premium draft picks this offseason when they elected to roll with Andrew Thomas, John Michael Schmitz and Evan Neal as three out of the five starters on the offensive line. And they’re catching some flak for it already.

On May 13, Pro Football Focus analyst John Kosko revealed a dead last ranking for Big Blue in the O-line department ahead of the 2024 campaign.

“Even after earning the worst offensive line grade of any team in 2023, the Giants did very little to improve their unit this offseason,” Kosko explained. “The group recorded a 44.6 PFF grade last year and will hope a fully healthy Andrew Thomas and the additions of guard Jon Runyan (56.5 PFF grade in 2023) and tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (68.7) can provide a boost.”

To be fair, no team would even consider replacing Thomas — one of the best left tackles in the NFL when healthy — and Schmitz is only entering year two. It’s the lack of urgency beyond those two that has mystified most analysts and fans.

Neal’s best PFF grade all-time is a 51.1 as a run blocker in 2023. Looking at overall grades, he’s failed to earn better than a 44.1 over his first two seasons.

It’s hard to give up on a top-10 selection after two years, but Neal’s performance made a legitimate case for a reboot at the position ahead of free agency and the draft. The Giants seemingly disagreed, never seriously pushing the Alabama product at right tackle.

General manager Joe Schoen also neglected to select a single OL prospect in the draft despite serious depth concerns within the blocking unit. Instead, NYG practically called it a day after bringing in two new starting-caliber guards — one of which has tackle flexibility — and several unspectacular backups.