Giants GM Joe Schoen on What the Team Looks for in Offensive Line Prospects

The New York Giants must protect Daniel Jones by improving their offensive line. GM Joe Schoen explains what he looks for when selecting offensive linemen.

Stop us if you've heard this before, but the New York Giants need to recruit their offensive line this off-season.

Yes, again. Or is that still? For most of the last decade, this all-important unit responsible for blowing open holes for the running backs and, maybe even more importantly, keeping the quarterback standing upright has failed miserably, partly due to the talent brought in, partly due to the coaching, and partly due to other factors.

Other than for left tackle Andrew Thomas, the Giants have question marks across the rest of the offensive line. Can they, for example, get more consistency out of second-year center John Michael Schmitz? Who will be the starting guards? Is Evan Neal salvageable at right tackle? And do they have enough qualified depth in the event of another injury-filled season like last year?

The team has a new offensive line coach, Carmen Bricillo, tasked with finding the answers to these questions. And if part of the solution comes from the addition of new talent, while Bricillo will have some input, those decisions will be made by general manager Joe Schoen, who recently discussed with Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio and Chris Simms the challenges of finding offensive linemen given how the college game has changed in recent years.

"They're getting the ball out quick [in college football]," Schoen said. "So, you've really got to evaluate what these guys are seeing in terms of stunts, games, the complexity of the defenses, how long are they actually having to pass protect. Rarely do they run block. There's not a lot of it [in college football]."

Interestingly, regardless of the combination, last year's Giants' offensive line struggled with identifying and picking up stunts. While the unit wasn't exactly helped by the quarterbacks, all of whom averaged over 2.8 seconds to throw, the Giants also allowed quite a few jailbreaks in which the quarterbacks never really had a chance.

The Giants, who dismissed Bobby Johnson from his post as offense line coach, hope that Bricillo can optimize the talent as he did for the Las Vegas Raiders.

"You hope you have a good coaching staff that can bring those guys in and develop them," Schoen said. "But, there is an adjustment period when they get to our level, from a technique standpoint. I think it's important to have a really good offensive line coach to teach that.

"I think the culture of that room and the makeup of the room are very important. I don't think you can underestimate the way those guys are wired and the continuity. It's almost half your offense. It's five guys that have got to be in unison."

Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll stated that draft pedigree isn't as important as the intangibles.

"To me, the O-line, it doesn't matter really where they come from; more of the makeup of the kids, the toughness, the grit, the ability to communicate," Schoen said. "There's five starters, 32 teams. Not everybody is going to be a first-round pick or a talented kid. It's those meat and potato guys that can get every ounce of talent out of themselves to play at the next level that you're looking for." 

---

• Follow and like us on Facebook.
  
• Submit your questions for our mailbag.
• Follow Patricia Traina on Instagram.
• Check out the Giants Country YouTube Channel.
• Subscribe and like the LockedOn Giants YouTube Channel