1. OL Nick Gates
As usual, it’ll be no surprise to anyone who follows this site that I have believed Nick Gates could be a real difference-maker along the NY Giants’ offensive line dating back to his first offseason snaps (he missed 2018 with an injury after making the team as an undrafted player).
Love that Nick Gates is active. He will be a starter down the road for this team #GMENHQ https://t.co/JWDdY2cPkT
— GMEN HQ (@GMENHQ) September 8, 2019
Although I have a certain level of disdain for the man for many reasons, former head coach Pat Shurmur was put in a terrible position to succeed during his two-year stint ahead coach of the NY Giants and ultimately ended up being the fall guy.
One of the biggest mistakes he made was being stubborn in keeping older players like Mike Remmers -who had no future with the team – on the field late into the season when a youngster with promise on a UDFA deal was waiting in the wings during a season that was going nowhere.
Now, Nick Gates is primed to be a real key cog in the Big Blue O-Line, either at center or right tackle, with reports coming out yesterday that he’s been an alpha at center early on in practices despite never playing the position a day in his life in a game and hardly ever once in practice.
When he finally did get on the field in 2019 – and it was only due to injuries – he flourished, and showed that SPARQ (total athletic scores) scores are sometimes useless when it comes to offensive lineman if their technique and fight can overcome it as I saw they would when I watched Gates’ college film from Nebraska.
In his three starts between right tackle and right guard he was more than impressive and showed something few NY Giants linemen have shown the ability to do – get to the second level and spring Saquon Barkley for big plays.
Saquon takes it in for his 2nd TD of the day! But look at Nick Gates, look how he pulled from the right to the left to lay a key block for Barkley. Nick Gates is good, and hopefully he’ll be on our O-line next season. pic.twitter.com/fSSdwdIW1R
— Danny King (@DannyKing___) December 17, 2019
When you’ve got an offensive lineman that can play all three positions – which is something he still has to prove at center – that has proved he can hold his ground and then some in the passing game and make be a plus in the run game, you’ve got a potential very good offensive lineman on your hands.
The NY Giants just wisely locked him up to a two-year deal that will pay him between $3M-$5M per year depending on performance bonuses.
During his three stats, Gates earned a stellar 77 overall Pro Football Focus grade, and although I’ve been hard on PFF when it comes to how they’ve been grading players, they’re usually on the money when it comes to offensive lineman; the former Husker allowed just 1 sack (that wasn’t really even his fault), committed 0 penalties and allowed almost no pressure in 2019.
I’m expecting Nick Gates to have a big season in 2020, and as the resident conductor of the ‘Nick Gates Train’, I’m still expecting him to be the key turning point for our offensive line for better future prospects.