Jon Runyan Jr Looks to Stay Busy in Giants Debut

Jon Runyan will be working overtime to earn his new $30 million salary from the New York Giants.

Oct 9, 2022; London, United Kingdom; Green Bay Packers guard Jon Runyan (76) blocks as quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) drops back to pass against the New York Giants during an NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

New York Giants fans are used to cheering for "Jon Runyan"-- they no doubt enjoyed every penalty he took during his heyday with the Philadelphia Eagles.

But starting this year, they’ll be cheering for Jon Runyan Jr., the son of the Pro Bowler-turned-New Jersey politician, who is donning blue after three years with the Green Bay Packers. 

The younger Runyan inked a three-year, $30 million deal with the Giants in March. He returned to his birth state, where his father served as a Republican representative after his 14-year NFL career, highlighted by his twice-annual battles against defensive end Michael Strahan.

The younger Runyan buys into the anonymous, relative superhero nature of blocking, which is exactly what the Giants are looking for, considering that far too many big men have become metropolitan household names for all the wrong reasons in recent campaigns.

"That's what the position of playing offensive line is about: you get none of the credit," Runyan Jr. said after the team completed its ninth OTA on Thursday. 

"We don't even need the credit. I love watching (running back Devin) Singletary score touchdowns; I love watching (quarterback) Daniel Jones throw touchdowns, all these receivers catching them. That's what we take pride in.

"So to give them the availability and the option to do all that stuff, that is what we get our joy from. We have a job to do, and we know this organization really invested heavily in the offensive line and elsewhere this season."

Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones (33) and guard Jon Runyan (76) . / Wm. Glasheen USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

The Giants are set to work through a bit of a transition season on offense: Jones is facing a potential make-or-break campaign, while Singletary faces the prospect of replacing franchise face Saquon Barkley. New York also used the sixth overall pick on a receiver, bringing in Malik Nabers from LSU.

Runyan is part of a transition himself, as he and former Las Vegas Raider Jermaine Eluemunor are now manning the interior. Runyan is set to move to the right after he worked on the left on Lambeau Field's hallowed turf. His career has been defined by change: he worked outside at Michigan before the Packers made him a sixth-round pick in 2020.

He's happy to accept further responsibility if the Giants deem it necessary.

"My whole career, it didn't matter where I played. Early in (my) career, I played mainly the left, and towards the end, the second half, I moved over to the right. It feels natural for me now," Runyan said of his constant coming and going. 

"(It's) kind of when I moved over there about two years ago, I kind of felt like a fish out of water, but it's kind of my home now, and I feel comfortable there.

"I've been taking reps there pretty much this whole time. Day by day, it just gets more comfortable in the sets and the footwork, and everything has been flowing."

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