NY Giants 2020 Season: 4 Pleasant Surprises

Nick Gates had a successful season his first time ever playing center.

Heading into 2020, one of the biggest question marks surrounding the Giants was who would play center and snap the ball every play to Daniel Jones.

Enter Nick Gates, who more than answered the call of duty.

Gates joined the Giants as an undrafted free agent back in 2018. He came into the league as a former tackle who started at Nebraska but had absolutely zero experience playing center at any level of football.

The Giants saw enough to like Gates and keep him on the roster in 2019. Gates was active for all 16 games and had three starts in 2019 and showed some promise for the future.

Once the Giants brought in Judge and a new coaching staff, they determined Gates’ future would be best suited at center. Gates attacked and worked at center all offseason and came into training camp ready to lock down a starting job.

Gates showed some toughness, passion, and played with a nasty streak that the coaching staff loved. Nick had little competition during camp and the job seemingly became his. Once August 1st came, the team rewarded Gates with a 2-year, $6.8 million extension. This all but confirmed Gates would be a starter and an important figure on the Giants line.

Despite never playing the position, Gates seemingly made the successful (and rare) transition from an NFL tackle to an NFL center. Gates had some struggles early in the season but kept working at it and progressed significantly as the season went on.

Gates finished his first season at center with 16 starts, zero missed snaps, and zero sacks allowed. These gaudy numbers are encouraging to see for a line that has to be improved and developed further this offseason. Gates looks the part as a long-term answer at center, something the NY Giants have been looking desperately for since Shaun O’Hara’s retirement.