Giants 2024 UFA Primer: OT Matt Peart

The Giants need offensive linemen. So is Matt Peart worth keeping, or should they go in a different direction?

Matt Peart, OT

Height: 6-foot-7
Weight: 315 lbs.
Age: 26
NFL Exp.: 4 seasons
College: Connecticut

The New York Giants drafted offensive tackle Matt Peart in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft (99th overall). Over the four seasons he’s played for the Giants, Peart has primarily been a backup for most of his tenure when he wasn't dealing with tough injuries.

As a rookie, Peart was one of the Giants go-to backups for the offensive tackle position. In his first career start (Week 6 in 2020), Peart allowed one pressure in 11 pass-blocking snaps. Peart’s snap count surpassed 20 two more times that season, those instances taking place over Weeks 8 and 9. In 24 offensive snaps in each game, Peart didn’t allow a single pressure or sack.

In 2021, Peart received the biggest workload of his young career, starting in five games while playing 421 offensive snaps. Of Peart's four seasons with the Giants, 2021 was his best. At the start of Week 5, Peart allowed one pressure in 44 pass-blocking snaps, soon followed by a 100 percent pass-blocking efficiency score in Week 7, which marked his second start of the season.

Though Peart allowed six pressures and a sack over his next two starts in Weeks 8 and 9, he did manage to bounce back in his fifth start come Week 15, once again not conceding a single pressure in 25 pass-blocking snaps. The following week, however, Peart suffered a torn ACL, landing him on IR to end the season.

Entering 2022, Peart started the season on the PUP list and was later activated on November 12, before Week 10. Despite making a healthy return, Peart didn’t receive much playing time to finish the season. Aside from his Week 11 performance against the Detroit Lions, which saw him allow just two pressures in 46 pass-blocking snaps, Peart didn’t muster much with the 117 offensive snaps he played, closing out an unimpressive 2022 season.

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2023 Recap

In the final year of his contract, Peart was assigned to his backup role to start the season. But over Week 5, Peart was dealt with yet another injury blow, this time relating to his shoulder and leading him to miss nine straight games.

Although Peart missed most of the season, he managed to end it on a strong note in the Giants' final two games. Peart only allowed one pressure in 20 pass-blocking snaps against the Los Angeles Rams. And in his sole start of the season against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 18, Peart allowed just one pressure once more, this time in 43 pass-blocking snaps.

Over his four-year stint as a Giant, Peart displayed multiple times how good of a tackle he can be. But producing at an elite level consistently, even when receiving a high snap count, has been the one hurdle Peart has continued to struggle with. And seeing how frequently injuries have stood in the way of his ability to succeed 2023 was once again an emblematic example of the kind of player Peart has become.

Why The Giants Should Re-sign Him

A big reason why Peart played as much as he did throughout his four-year tenure with the Giants was because of how often he was called upon to jump in for tackles who were sidelined with injuries.

Peart has been a good depth piece since the Giants drafted him. Considering how well he’s been able to play despite enduring long stretches with minimal reps, the Giants might want to re-sign him as a backup and pad their offensive line with a solid tackle familiar with the system.

Peart has conceded just 13 pressures and one sack in 249 offensive snaps over 2022 and 2023. It’s by no means anything stellar. But at 26 years old, Peart still has plenty of upside and makes for a viable backup. Should he be open to a budget-friendly one-year deal, the Giants should consider keeping Peart.

Why The Giants Shouldn’t Re-sign Him

The biggest concern with keeping Peart is his injury-prone history, particularly coming off an ACL tear and a shoulder injury that put him on IR this past season. If the Giants are going to keep Peart around, availability is key, and that starts with him staying healthy.

In addition, Peart has just not found it easy to produce consistently enough throughout his career. All too often, Peart would play well in one or two games before producing some shaky performances a week or two later. This was most evident in 2021 between Weeks 5 and 9, where, at times, Peart would allow just one pressure before then allowing four pressures a week or two later.

Even in 2023, Peart struggled against Miami in Week 5, allowing four pressures and one hit. But after returning from his shoulder injury in Weeks 17 and 18, Peart only allowed pressure in each game. To win, players must consistently produce at a high level, and Peart hasn’t found it easy to achieve that as a Giant.

Keep or Pass?

Should Peart be open to re-signing with the Giants as a key backup on a veteran one-year deal, the Giants should take it up and give him another chance. The Giants offensive line has been anything but healthy over these last two-plus seasons, particularly regarding their tackles. Having Peart in the back pocket ready to go has proven beneficial for the Giants on multiple occasions.

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