PFF ranks the Giants’ offensive line last in the NFL

Rebuilding the New York Giants offensive line has proven to be a Sisyphean task over the last decade or so.

It seems that no matter what the Giants’ front office — be it under Jerry Reese, Dave Gettleman, or Joe Schoen — and coaching staff did, they could never quite put that task behind them.

Case in point, Pro Football Focus currently ranks the Giants’ offensive line as the weakest in the NFL. Despite Joe Schoen signing five (5) offensive linemen in free agency.

Even after earning the worst offensive line grade of any team in 2023, the Giants did very little to improve their unit this offseason. The group recorded a 44.6 PFF grade last year and will hope a fully healthy Andrew Thomas and the additions of guard Jon Runyan (56.5 PFF grade in 2023) and tackle Jermaine Eluemunor (68.7) can provide a boost.

Raptor’s Thoughts

As mentioned above, the Giants signed five offensive linemen over the course of free agency.

• G Jon Runyan Jr.
• T/G Jermaine Eluemunor,
• OG Aaron Stinnie
• iOL Austin Schlottman
• OT Matt Nelson

Runyan is expected to start at guard and Eluemunor expected to at least push Evan Neal at right tackle, as well as compete for a guard job. The Giants have also, and perhaps more importantly, brought in new offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo. The Giants acknowledged that Bobby Johnson was fired for failing to develop young linemen. That could pay dividends with John Michael-Schmitz, who showed promise in an uneven rookie year.

The biggest wildcards will be Evan Neal and Joshua Ezeudu. Neal has been disappointing, but has struggled with injury throughout his rookie and sophomore years. This is likely Neal’s last chance, but it’s important to remember that he’s only played 20 games, been taught by a coach who was fired for failing to develop young players, and has had multiple lower body injuries. It’s possible that a new voice and some health (and consistent reps) could let Neal reach the ceiling we expected coming out of Alabama. Ezeudu, meanwhile, was miscast as an offensive tackle at North Carolina, and even more badly out of place filling in at left tackle last year. He could be another candidate for significant improvement with consistent work at a natural position.

The Giants’ offensive line did rank 24th in ESPN’s pass block win rate. They could be primed for a significant step forward with their new additions and better coaching for the young players.