NY Giants have confidence rookie Shane Lemieux can make switch to center
Many were surprised when the NY Giants passed on taking a center in the 2020 NFL Draft, instead of drafting guard prospect Shane Lemieux. However, all signs point to him competing for the center gig.
In my opinion, the single most intriguing positional battle this offseason for the NY Giants will be that of the center position. After finally cutting ties with the brutal Jon Halapio, GM Dave Gettleman is taking a different approach – that has worked around the league –by attempting to move athletic guards over to the pivot position.
During his time at Oregon, Shane Lemieux exclusively played guard and he did so at an extremely high level. For further measure, he didn’t miss a single game in all of his four years with the Ducks, starting 52 games in a row proving he’s a very durable player.
His superb play was finally recognized after his senior season when he was recognized as an AP second-team All-American and first-team All-Pac 12.
Lemieux is very technical and doesn’t often get bullied on bull rushes, two outstanding qualities to have for a center. The major question of course will be, will he be able to snap the ball effectively? Something he’s never really done until he started practicing it in the lead up to the draft to expand his horizons.
It ended up being a shrewd move as it caught the eye of NY Giants GM, Dave Gettleman, and put him on their radar. The team ended up selecting him in the fifth round with the idea of attempting to move him over to the pivot position.
Lemieux will be assisted in his transition by standout offensive line coach Marc Colombo, who is new to the coaching staff after coming over from Dallas. It goes without saying, the sooner physical practices start the better for Lemieux as he has a lot of work to put in to learn the new position.
Taking a look at the competition
While Dave Gettleman’s approach of essentially having three young players that have little to no experience at the center position attempt to move over to the pivot position, I actually think its a bold move that could pay off in spades.
Lemieux, Nick Gates, and UDFA Kyle Murphy are all athletic and have solid size, strength, and foot movement to possibly master the position. For now, the team is keeping around Spencer Pulley as an emergency – in my opinion – in case none of these three youngsters is able to show they can play the position effectively.
If you had to handicap things as they stand right now, it’s likely Nick Gates is at the top of the list as he’s been with the team the longest and already showed he’s incredibly versatile while having been working vigorously on snapping the football this offseason.
Lemieux would probably be the second-best bet to win the job, but the team still hasn’t gotten him in the building up close to see what he’s got. Kyle Murphy is a very intriguing prospect out of Rhode Island that the NY Giants shelled out 96K to land his services, the most they paid to any undrafted free agent.
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It may sound boring to some who aren’t football aficionados, but I’m super excited to see how this battle plays out as we’ve long needed a center to hold down the fort in the middle of the offensive line.