Nick Gates shows plenty of promise in New York Giants debut

Despite the debilitating loss to the Jets, New York Giants offensive lineman Nick Gates was a bright spot in his debut start.

It’s far from a secret to anyone that frequents this establishment that I’ve been the resident conductor of the ‘Nick Gates Train’ for quite some time now. While examining the litter of New York Giants potential young developmental offensive lineman over the past two years, Gates stood out to me as a technician in pass protection, with the major slights on him being athleticism concerns.

Gates was a solid three-year starter at Nebraska during his college career, and left early for the draft after his Junior season due to yet another coaching change going down after a Third-Team All Big Ten selection. Initially expected to be a mid-round draft pick with an outside chance of being a day two guy, Gates stunningly went undrafted after concerns over his 5.4 40 time, short arms and testing in only the second-percentile in  ‘SPARQ’ score (an overall score that determines where a prospect ranks athletically overall in terms of testing relative to others at the position) grew loud.

To me, athleticism matters less amongst offensive lineman, as they are playing in a much smaller area of space and things like their 40 time don’t factor into the game very often. I saw a player that more often than not, stayed in front of his man and didn’t get his quarterback killed via communication mishaps. With the offensive line being such an  area of need over the past many years, I was a big proponent for Gates getting a serious look early on, and even more so when it became apparent this team was going no where and had few long-term options on the O-Line.

As usual, I come with receipts.

Due to going out on a limb, I spent more time watching the right tackle in a football game yesterday than I can ever remember – the results were very encouraging. While the Jets certainly are not known for having a strong stable of edge-rushers, Gates allowed only two pressures on 54 pass-blocking snaps yesterday according to Pro Football Focus. Considering that this was his first career start, and the overall state of flux amongst the Big Blue offensive line, I’d say those results are actually exceptional.

Gates – like everyone else on the line – struggled to deal with the number-one overall rush defense in the NFL, as Saquon Barkley was bottled up to the tune of one yard on 13 carries (still don’t know how that’s possible). However, the second-year pro (after spending 2018 on IR) quieted critics who said he’d struggle to block at the second-level due to speed concerns, as he sprung Golden Tate on his 61-yard touchdown run by getting to the third-level and tripping up a safety to open up the final hole.

Regardless of the health of Nate Solder and Mike Remmers moving forward, Nick Gates needs to start at either one of the tackle positions for the rest of 2019. I believe right tackle is the wiser move, as he might not be dominant enough to warrant holding down the top position on the offensive line, but he is more than capable of being a very solid contributor in this league. Solder and Remmers aren’t (or at least shouldn’t be) part of the team’s future plans, so getting Gates’ bumps out of the way now in a lost year is paramount.

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When a roster is littered with as many holes as this Big Blue crew, hitting on an UDFA offensive lineman is a quick route towards respectability. The Giants simply do not have enough cap space or draft picks to fill all the holes on this team in a timely fashion, so it’s going to be important to keep this type of mindset coming out of the bye week.

Any player that is not a legitimate option for this team past 2019 should be a candidate for less snaps, while any player with the potential of Gates needs to see the field in earnest.

After one week, Nick Gates showed he has the potential to stick in this league. Finding even more players like that the rest of the way will help to remove some of the stink in the air surrounding this franchise.