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As the New York Giants are going through roster changes to have their final 53-man roster, what is cemented has been the starting offensive lineman. Giants head coach Brian Daboll expressed his pleasure with the development of the unit Tuesday as the team prepares for the regular season opener.
While the Giants offensive line was among the worst last season due to poor performance and a bevy of injuries, there could be some excitement within the team for the unit. There is no doubt that Daboll shares that anticipation, so much so, that he talked about taking a picture of them doing a drill according to Sports Illustrated.
“I took a picture of those guys in the walk-through,” Daboll said to the media before the team’s main practice. “The five of them out there doing their first drill together. Walk-through drill.”
Andrew Thomas speaks on the Giants offensive line
Looking at the projected starting offensive lineman for the Giants, it consists of left tackle Andrew Thomas, left guard Jon Runyan, Jr., center John Michael Schmitz, right guard Greg Van Roten, and right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor. Speaking of Thomas who was the team's former first round pick going No. 4 in the 2020 NFL Draft, he spoke about the importance of getting as many reps together with the starting unit.
“It’s great to have everybody back,” Thomas said. “We need these reps. We have seven or eight practices before the first game so we need every rep we can get.”
“I think so,” Thomas continued. “I think we have a good group. There are a lot of veterans, which I think helps with the group. And then (center) John Michael (Schmitz Jr.) it’s his second year, in this system so just making the Mike points, I think he’s going to do a good job for us.”
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Andrew Thomas on the veterans on the Giants offensive line
There is some newcomers to the Giants on the offensive line like Roten and Eluemunor who are veterans that could help a lot with the youth of the team. The same sentiments were echoed by Thomas who said that the veteran leadership “makes a huge difference” in terms of the experience.
“I think it makes a huge difference,” Thomas said. “(Guard) GV (Greg Van Roten) and (tackle) Jermaine (Eluemunor), they were with (Offensive Line Coach) Carm (Carmen Bricillo) in a similar system in (Las) Vegas, so I think that helps a lot. And (guard Jon) Runyan (Jr.) has played a lot of ball for Green Bay. I think it's just a matter of being on the same page as far as language. But the schemes… Everybody they've seen every play there is. So, I think we're going to be okay.”
It's not a secret that the offensive line has been a flaw for New York since Thomas has been here, but expressed his confidence for this specific group.
“Yeah, but it's easy to be confident now. We'll see once we get into the season because that's when you'll really be tested,” Thomas said. “But I think we have a group of guys that will battle to get to the right person, no M-E, stuff like that, not beating ourselves. Hopefully, we can be dominant.”
The Giants face the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 8.
