Barely a month after signing a contract extension, Jon Runyan is making New York Giants fans wonder why he even bothered to stick around.
Don’t get us wrong: We understand a player, especially one seeking his first Super Bowl appearance, wanting more from his team. He’s in his sixth year and hasn’t experienced a playoff game in nearly three seasons.
But there are certain lines you don’t cross, at least not publicly. Runyan clearly didn’t get the memo ahead of the NFC East-leading Giants’ road trip to New Orleans.
“A couple plays here and there, I feel like we could also be 1-4,” Runyan told reporters. “I still feel like we have a long way to go on this team. Luckily, we are 3-1-1 at the moment.”
That’s brutal, even though Runyan used that point to praise John Harbaugh and the Giants’ new coaching staff.
How should New York Giants fans feel about Jon Runyan Jr.’s honest analysis?
On the one hand, Runyan is technically correct, which is the best kind of correct. Last-minute miracles have saved the Giants from home losses to the winless Titans and lowly Cardinals, and we’d be having far different conversations right now if not for their goal-line stands.
We also credit Runyan for offering such candid commentary on the 2026 Giants. Rarely do we hear non-quarterbacks or top-tier veterans voluntarily opt against the PR-friendly answers when things are going so well.
That’s the thing, though. Runyan hasn’t played well enough to make those kinds of comments, and we promise we’re not trying to pretend the Giants have dominated opponents. He’s been a weak spot on an inconsistent offensive line, and his two-year, $22 million extension isn’t looking good.
Both the eye test and Pro Football Focus agree that Runyan has underperformed; his 50.8 PFF grade ranks No. 63 of 75 qualified guards. Not only is his 44.1 run-block grade bad enough to leave fans feeling nauseous, but it’s the fourth-worst league-wide.
(And yes, we know we’re often hard on PFF. But as we’ve also argued, their metrics are useful as supplemental data for comparing and contrasting.)
This is admittedly where the conversation becomes unfair, because it wouldn’t be a big deal if Isaiah Likely or Jevon Holland said the same thing verbatim. Abdul Carter could probably get away with it, even if he’s only in his second season.
Imagine if a starting pitcher with a 5.50 ERA said that about a 29-20 club sitting atop their division. We’d collectively look at them in shock and think, “You are the last person who should be talking.”
Then again, the Runyan family has a recent history of poor language, and we’re not talking about the kind that earns a letter from the FCC. His father serves as the NFL’s president of football operations, and Jon Sr. has drawn harsh criticism for what many believe were personal attacks toward Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair.
Today’s lesson: Members of the Runyan family might be better off speaking only if they have something nice to say.
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