New York Giants Offensive Line An Early Season Bright Spot

Despite the Giants' early struggles, the offensive line has held up nicely.

Sep 15, 2024; Landover, Maryland, USA; New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones (8) passes the ball in the second half against the Washington Commanders at Commanders Field. / Luke Johnson-Imagn Images

Many things have gone wrong for the New York Giants during their 0-2 start to the 2024 season, but the one thing people might have expected to be among the problems has actually been a nice surprise.

That would be the offensive line. While it's still early in the season, the veteran starting group of Andrew Thomas, Jon Runyan, Jr, John Michael Schmitz, Greg Van Roten, and Jermaine Eluemunor has so far silenced the narrative that the offensive line is holding the offense back.

The numbers back up their stellar play. Through two games, the offensive line has, per Pro Football Focus, been responsible for just two of the six sacks quarterback Daniel Jones has absorbed so far.  

From the eye test alone, the offensive line is lightyears ahead of where it was last season and even further into the past. The unit has allowed just 10 of the 20 pressures Jones has faced so far, which has them tied for the tenth-fewest among the league’s 32 offensive lines. And their current pass-blocking efficiency rating of 88.1 has the unit tied for ninth with the Kansas City Chiefs.

“I think we definitely had a better showing in the second game than we did in the first one,” Thomas, the team’s left tackle said on Monday. “There are still some things that we can improve on to allow us to be more explosive and score more points, but I'm definitely happy with the improvement. “

Want more encouraging news regarding this long-time problem unit? Jones, according to NextGen Stats, has averaged 2.85 seconds to throw through two weeks, the tenth-best average in the league.

After running Duo just once in Week 1, the Giants spammed it 61% of the time against Washington. Last year, Raiders OL coach Carmen Bricillo used Duo on 31% of runs, the 7th most in the league

Data: @FTNData https://t.co/8n1F0A7mPs pic.twitter.com/ghCaJRT15z

— Doug Analytics (@Doug_Analytics) September 17, 2024

Even the run blocking, which left much to be desired in Week 1, showed improvement as the offensive linemen were more successful in climbing to the second level. Despite playing with mostly heavy personnel (12 or 13 personnel) in Week 1, the Giants gained just 3.5 yards on 21 carries as a team. 

They completely flipped the script against Washington, as Devin Singletary had 95 yards on 16 carries with one touchdown. Singletary rushed for 5.9 yards per attempt, while Jones also had an efficient 32 yards on five carries.  

"I think it's all five of the guys," Thomas said when asked if having more veterans has made a difference. "As you guys know, it takes all five to be a good offensive line. If one person has a bad play, then that play can be ruined.

"I think all five of us have done a good job of gelling together, getting on the same page there. There are still things that we can clean up in our run fits and just setting together, (inaudible), things of that nature, but I think it's the whole collective."

An unsung hero in their success so far has been offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo. The Giants needed to nail this hire in the offseason and so far it's paying off. Bricillo, who spent the previous two seasons with the Raiders in the same position, took their unit from mediocre to above average. 

It seems that he's doing the same here just two weeks into the season. He was able to retain his starting right guard/tackle duo in Van Roten and Eluemunor, who played under Bricillo last season in Las Vegas.

Things won’t get any easier for this unit as they’ll face a Cleveland Browns pass rush that is currently in the top-five in sacks The Browns boast star pass rusher Myles Garrett along with Za'Darius Smith and former Giant Dalvin Tomlinson on the interior. Linebackers Jordan Hicks and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah also have to be accounted for, as they can come crashing down on a blitz at any given moment.

The Giants' offensive line has a chance to continue proving that the first two games were not a mirage and that the unit has indeed turned the corner not just this weekend but over the next six games when it will face some staunch defenses.