Giants Add Veteran Guard Jon Runyan Jr to Offensive Line Rebuild

New York's first major free agent signing of the new year focuses on its worst unit from last season.

The New York Giants, in need of two new starting guards, filled one of the vacancies by agreeing to terms with Jon Runyan Jr of the Green Bay Packers, who agreed to a three-year deal worth $30 million with $17 million guaranteed, a source confirmed.

Runyan, whose father Jon Runyan was a former offensive lineman for the Eagles whose twice-annual battles with Giants defensive end Michael Strahan were highlights of that series, played his college ball at Michigan. He's never missed a game since coming to the NFL in 2020 as a sixth-round pick.

According to Pro Football Focus, the 26-year-old Runyan has extensive experience at the NFL level playing both guard positions, with 1,611 of his snaps coming at left guard and 1,709 at right guard.

New York Giants 2024 Free Agent Tracker

The 6-foot-4, 307-pound Runyan has a career 98.1 pass-blocking efficiency rating, having allowed 64 pressures in 1,971 pass-blocking snaps.

The Giants are expected to hold competitions for their two starting guard spots. Runyon is likely to get one of the two (most likely right guard, where he's had most of his recent snaps), and either Marcus McKethan or Joshua Ezeudu is in the mix for the other.

The signing of Runyon is a reasonably priced acquisition for an offensive line that last year allowed 85 sacks, the second-most in NFL history since sacks became a tracked statistic.

Justin Pugh and Ben Bredeson, who started as guards for the Giants last season, are both unrestricted free agents. Pugh is unlikely to be re-signed, but Bredeson has an outside chance of returning, given that he also provides depth at center.

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