3 NY Giants position battles that will shape training camp, 2021 season

Right tackle

This spring, the NY Giants’ offensive line was essentially set.

Matt Peart, Will Hernandez, Nick Gates, Shane Lemieux and Andrew Thomas almost exclusively took the practice reps during OTAs and mandatory minicamp, but the possibility remains that competition could emerge for the right tackle job.

Peart, last season, rotated in at both tackle positions and more than held his own. As a rookie, Peart surrendered just two sacks and nine total pressures in 84 pass-rush snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.

This season, Andrew Thomas is entrenched as a starting tackle and the NY Giants have plenty of optimism that he will make significant strides one year removed from being chosen No. 4 overall in last April’s NFL Draft.

However, while Peart enters training camp on fairly solid footing, he might need to fend off a challenge from returning veteran Nate Solder.

If Solder is to have any chance at returning to the starting lineup, after returning from opting out in 2020, he will need to show marked improvement from what was the most disappointing season of his career in 2019.

On an offensive line that looks to build cohesion this summer, tracking how many snaps Solder gets with the first-team group will be interesting.