Jon Runyan Jr. reveals why he signed with Giants over Jets

Jon Runyan Jr.’s free-agent decision to pick the Giants over the Jets was a little more complex than just shouting, “Show me the money!” 

Runyan was able to squeeze a slightly bigger contract out of the Giants, as shown on HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” when his agent Drew Rosenhaus told senior vice president of football operations Kevin Abrams that he had to “beat” the Jets’ three-year, $27 million offer.

Cuba Gooding Jr.’s character in “Jerry Maguire” would have been excited. 

A tie would have gone to the Jets because of Runyan’s comfort level with quarterback Aaron Rodgers and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett from when all three were together with the Packers. 

“You can say the Jets are built for right-now mode to go win the Super Bowl this year,” Runyan said after Friday’s practice. “But I think this franchise here is building not just for this year, but I think they’re building for the next four or five years.

“That’s what really excited me about it. The fact that I come here and feel really wanted and welcomed has been amazing.” 

The brain trust of general manager Joe Schoen, assistant general manager Brandon Brown and Abrams stretched their limit to three-years, $30 million and matched the Jets’ $17 million guaranteed to secure the Giants’ biggest prize of free agency for head Brian Daboll and offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo. 

“In the end, it all worked out,” Runyan said. “The money is the money — whatever — but I really believe in what Joe, Brandon, Dabes, Carmen and everybody else is building here. I like how this team is built from top-to-bottom on the offensive side of the ball. We have playmakers all around. The offensive line is going to be really solid, I firmly believe. And we just have to give our quarterback time to make plays.” 

The Giants prioritized free agents Runyan and right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor to rebuild a line that allowed a franchise-record 85 sacks and better protect quarterback Daniel Jones off of a torn ACL last season.

The win-now-minded Jets pivoted to adding new starters left tackle Tyron Smith, left guard John Simpson and right tackle Morgan Moses to protect Rodgers off of a torn Achilles. 

“They have a lot of Green Bay guys over there,” Runyan said, “so I thought the Jets were going to be at the forefront and they came in and made an offer.” 

Runyan is no stranger to the Giants’ history because his father (Jon Runyan Sr.) was the Eagles left tackle who famously battled Michael Strahan for years at the height of the rivalry in the 2000s.

He sees the path to getting Big Blue back to respectability as copying that old blueprint. 

“I feel like that’s going to be the heartbeat of this team — how well we control the line of scrimmage,” Runyan said. 

The two reasons that the Giants targeted Eluemunor and Runyan were durability and versatility.

Eluemunor already has moved from left guard in the spring to right tackle and Runyan can play on either side of center John Michael Schmitz and still provide insurance behind Schmitz. 

“We’re trying to build some cohesion with whatever side you’re going on,” Runyan said. “It’s tough going from left side to right side. Your whole body has to change. Everything’s just reflected and your whole eyes and feet and hands are all different. It’s nice being able to stick on one side.” 

As the Giants learned too well last season, however, emergencies happen.

Runyan played center in preseason games as a rookie and continues to work on the quarterback exchange before practices in his fifth training camp. 

“I’ve always been able to snap,” Runyan said. “I think of myself more as a guard, but if I’m needed there I feel comfortable enough. It is something that’s just always stuck with me. I feel like it’s just a good trait to keep it in the back pocket.” 

Runyan’s pockets are a little deeper because of the Giants-Jets bidding war.

Time will tell if it was a worthy investment. 

“I really like how these first three days of camp have gone so far,” Runyan said. “I feel like we left off right where we started in OTAs. And it’s been really inspiring.”