When the New York Giants signed veteran swing tackle James Hudson to a two-year, $12 million deal in free agency this offseason, they thought they were getting a reliable Andrew Thomas insurance policy.
Not only did Hudson's name fit right in with New York, but his play style and demeanor did as well. He was joining an offensive line that really hasn't had much to be proud of in years. The tape said it all. Once Thomas went down with a season-ending Lisfranc injury, the line collapsed. The real problem was there just wasn't enough depth to cover up his loss... not that filling in for the star left tackle is easy by any means.
Still, bringing in Hudson felt like a step in the right direction after GM Joe Schoen had ignored the line's struggles for three straight seasons. Well, it took exactly one week for those good feelings to get washed into the Hudson... River that is. The 26-year-old had about as bad a debut in Giants blue as anyone could imagine, and with Thomas' return still up in the air, it's becoming obvious the G-Men have a problem on their hands.
Giants' James Hudson experiment is already at risk of failing
Week 1 went horribly for the fifth-year veteran. He got worked from kickoff to the final whistle. The eye test confirmed it, but it's the advanced metrics that make things look even worse.
According to Pro Football Focus, Hudson earned a 47.2 pass-blocking grade (62/81) and a 58.3 run-blocking grade (43/81) to finish with an underwhelming 55.0 overall grade, ranking 58th out of 81 possible players.
The graph below from Stat Accountant only further agrees with the embarrassing stats PFF presents. Giants fans will find the maligned tackle in the bottom left (the worst place to be on this graph):
Offensive tackle pass protection in week 1 pic.twitter.com/6lz29P0c0B
— Stat Acccount (@AcccountStat) September 9, 2025
All of this is to say that without Andrew Thomas on the field, the Giants will struggle. An offensive line is only as strong as its weakest link. Hudson was clearly New York's in Week 1. PFF has the line ranked 30th after its terrible season opener, with the $12 million man as the main culprit.
This is a problem that only has the potential to spiral even more out of control. Thomas has been limited at practice heading into Sunday's contest against the Dallas Cowboys. If he's a no-go, that means it's Hudson Round 2. And while the Cowboys no longer roster QB nightmare Micah Parsons, it's still not a defensive line to take lightly.
This team just can't keep throwing out offensive linemen who can't block. Brian Daboll hasn't been holding the troublemakers accountable, and it's holding Big Blue back. Maybe Marcus Mbow is the answer in the short-term, but whatever it is, going status quo hasn't been working, and it'll likely result in a 0-2 start to the 2025 season.
The Giants need to move on from the Hudson experience quickly before things go too far off the rails.