John Michael Schmitz Jr. Thriving on Giants Offensive Line

According to his teammates, John Michael Schmitz, Jr.'s second NFL season has quietly gotten off to a solid start.

Aug 24, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants center John Michael Schmitz Jr. (61) after the game at MetLife Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

New York Giants center John Michael Schmitz, Jr., had a rocky start to his rookie season last year. Between injuries that cost him games and his struggles to adapt to life in the NFL, some wondered if the Giants had indeed correctly selected their center of the future. 

Now in his second year, Schmitz has recovered from an early training camp shoulder injury and has not only been playing some of his best ball, he’s been rounding out into a leader on a unit where every other player has more experience than he does.  

“He's the one that's in charge of pretty much directing this whole offense, him and (quarterback) Daniel (Jones),” guard Jon Runyan, Jr. said. 

“Nothing really fazes him and [he’s] doing a good job in the run and pass game. It starts with him and getting everybody going to the right people. He's been doing a good job and he's been on top of everything.”

Left tackle Andrew Thomas also noted the growth he’s witnessed from Schmitz. 

“You can tell he's more confident this year,” Thomas said. “Starting with just the MIKE points and understanding the calls. Last year he was also dealing with injuries too, so just seeing him, knock on wood, healthy this year, I think that's something as well.”

During his first year with New York, Schmitz appeared in 13 games but missed three due to a shoulder injury and one to a shin injury. The same shoulder flared up again during training camp, causing him to miss ten practices. 

He finally got the all-clear in mid-August but suffered a minor ankle injury in New York’s last preseason game against the Jets. Because of the mild nature of the injury and the time in between that game and the start of the regular season, Schmitz was able to play in Week 1.

Although the team’s offense didn’t impress fans during their season-opener against Minnesota, they looked significantly better against the Commanders. 

In their game against Washington, the Giants’ O-line allowed just seven pressures and one sack, a step up from Week 1’s 12 pressures and five sacks . 

After the Minnesota game, Pro Football Focus ranked the Giants’ offense 29th. After Week 2, though, they have moved up to 26th place.

So far this season, Schmitz has surrendered three pressures and rates a 98.1 for his pass-blocking efficiency rating.

His improvements are certainly a sign of his hard work, focus, and listening to his veteran teammates like Thomas.

“Me being a veteran left tackle, [I’ve been] just helping him out sometimes with MIKE points and stuff like that,” Thomas said. 

“Like I said, we have veteran guys around him as well. He's done a great job of taking ownership of that role, and he’s growing every day.”

Giants assistant coach/offensive coordinator Mike Kafka notes the importance of all five offensive linemen working together. 

“All five of those guys have got to be working as one. And I think they spend a lot of time together talking about that and how they see it,” he says. 

If Schmitz and the offensive line can continue to improve, there is hope for New York to turn things around. If not, Giants fans are looking at a long road ahead.

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