Giants Offensive Line Rises in PFF's Preseason Ranking

Once among the worst units in the league, the Giants' offensive line's stock is rising following a strong off-season of strategic moves.

Cellar dwellers no more!

The New York Giants offensive line, which finished 30th overall in Pro Football Focus's 2021 end-of-season rankings, is on the rise following a massive off-season overhaul by new general manager Joe Schoen.

Schoen replaced every starter on the unit except for left tackle Andrew Thomas, bringing in several guys who had prior experience playing for head coach Brian Daboll in Buffalo, such as Jamil Douglas and Jon Feliciano.

Schoen also restocked the cupboard's depth, which had dried up under the previous regime, with some young, developmental talent like draft picks Josh Ezeudu and Marcus McKeethan, and undrafted free agent Josh Rivas. And he added the missing piece, right tackle Evan Neal, with one of two first-round picks in this year's draft.

Those moves were good enough for the Giants offensive line to earn a spot in Tier 4--"At Least One Good Offensive Tackle" of PFF's preseason offensive line rankings, where New York opens as the league's 18t best offensive line ahead of training camp.

Notes Michael Renner, author of the list:

That one good tackle is former fourth overall pick Andrew Thomas, although Evan Neal is a promising rookie. Thomas' abysmal rookie season is still ingrained in a lot of minds, but many missed him become one of the best pass-protecting tackles in the league last year. He allowed only 18 pressures on 517 pass-blocking snaps after giving up 57 as a rookie.

This isn't the first time there has been optimism about the Giants' offensive line being vastly improved from the prior season. The organization poo-pooed any concerns about the unit last year, citing its confidence in the young players it assembled.

However, a combination of injuries, retirements, and poor performances added up to another disastrous showing by the offensive line, which was made worse by the lack of depth to step in for those players that weren't able to get the job done for one reason or another.

So why is there reason to be optimistic that the offensive line not only deserves a much higher ranking but will be better this year?

Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com

John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

The biggest reason is that Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll's approach to building the offensive line is the opposite of what the Giants tried to deploy last year.

First, the Giants declined to extend any of the free agents that underperformed last year, such as center Billy Price, guard Will Hernandez and tackle Nate Solder. Many were replaced with guys familiar with Daboll's offensive system, such as guard Jamil Douglas and center Jon Feliciano.

The Giants also brought in guard Mark Glowinski, who worked with offensive line coach Bobby Johnson in Indianapolis during the 2018 season and who has been a solid performer for the Colts throughout his career thus far.

The Giants, who retained youngsters Andrew Thomas, Nick Gates, Shane Lemieux, Ben Bredeson, and Matt Peart, also added youth like Evan Neal, Marcus McKethan, and Joshua Ezeudu.

The overall plan will see the offensive interior, which struggled the most last season, consisting of veterans flanked by the two young tackles. And they will be backed up by some young prospects whom Johnson is tasked with developing as opposed to the veterans the Giants added last year to serve in that same role.

Of course, no one will know for sure if the Giants have finally solved their offensive line issues until they start playing in games, but so far, the unit seems to be trending in the right direction.

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