New York Giants 2024 Training Camp Preview: G/T Jermaine Eluemunor

Will Eluemunor settle in as a pass-blocking upgrade at guard or will he push Evan Neal for the right tackle position?

Dec 24, 2022; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Las Vegas Raiders guard Jermaine Eluemunor (72) prepares to block at the line of scrimmage against Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt (90) during the first quarter at Acrisure Stadium. / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

There’s an old saying that the most popular person on a football team is the backup quarterback. But in the case of the New York Giants, it might just be the projected backup right tackle.

Many fans view Eluemunor, an eight-year veteran who followed Carmen Bricillo, his offensive line coach the last two seasons in Las Vegas to New York, as an obvious replacement for incumbent Evan Neal if he struggles this season. 

Others believe there should be an outright battle for the position during training camp. If none of that happens, Eluemunor will still be the favorite to assume one of the starting guard positions. 

For now, the job looks like Neal’s to lose, but it remains to be seen how long of a chance Neal has before a move is made should he stumble. Meanwhile, Eluemunor’s versatility makes him such an underrated and valuable free-agent acquisition. 

He has started games at both left and right guard and became the full-time starter at right tackle over the last two seasons with the Raiders. 

If he had never played guard, it would have been interesting to watch him, and Neal battle it out, but again, the Giants are dedicated to Neal at right tackle, which allows Eluemunor to start at guard while also backing up at right tackle. 

Neal has battled injuries in his first two seasons, so having a player who can legitimately fill in if he goes down will help keep production high. That is probably why having both of them as starters is smart and more valuable. It should help build chemistry between the front five early. 

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JERMAINE ELUEMUNOR, G/T

Height: 6-4
Weight: 338 lbs.
Exp: 8
School: Texas A&M
How Acquired: FA-24

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2023 in Review

Eluemunor earned the starting right tackle job going into the 2022 season. He followed up a quality season in which he started every game with another strong 2023 season that saw him make 14 starts and compete in all 17 games. 

He started the final nine games of the season. He has shown tremendous durability, which was sorely missing on the Giants' offensive line in 2023. 

Eluemunor took 100 percent of the offensive snaps in nine games and over 90 percent in four other games. He even did a little work on special teams. 

Eluemunor was a big part of an offensive line unit that was great in run blocking and pass protection. 

Over the past two seasons, the Raiders ran for over 3,500 yards as they opened lanes for running back Josh Jacobs. This included the 2022 season when Jacobs led the NFL in rushing. The pass protection was 12th in sacks allowed across the league in 2023. 

Eluemunor spent the past two seasons protecting the right side of five quarterbacks who played significant snaps for Las Vegas. His protection helped them to secure wins over the Chargers and Kansas City down the stretch, two teams with two of the better pass-rushing units in football. 

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Contract/Cap Info

Eluemunor signed a two-year, $14 million contract with a $5.5 million signing bonus and $6.75 million guaranteed. His APY is $7 million, a bargain compared to what some of his peers are getting these days.

In 2024, Eluemunor will earn a base salary of $1.25 million and a workout bonus worth $250,000, contributing to a cap hit of $4.74 million and a dead cap value of $6.75 million. This contract represents his largest payday as a professional. 

2024 Preview

The plan seems to be to play Eluemunor at guard–in the spring, he’s been working at left guard, but he’ll also likely see snaps at right guard at some point. If Neal falters or is injured, Eluemunor will also be the guy at right tackle.

The additions of Eluemunor and Runyan at the guard positions suggest that the team wants to improve its pass protection up the middle after the offensive line's interior allowed more sacks than 20 other NFL teams last season. 

Although much focus was placed on the struggles of handling edge pressure, the disruption caused up the middle also needed to be addressed. 

Eluemunor will be upgraded to whichever guard position he settles in. That should give quarterback Daniel Jones a much cleaner pocket to work in than he has seen in recent years. 

It should also make life easier on second-year center John Michael Schmitz to have better pass protectors flanking him. 

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