New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart has enough on his plate this offseason, adjusting to a new coaching staff and Matt Nagy’s offensive system.
Barring injuries, Dart won’t need to worry about any shuffling on the offensive line. John Harbaugh has maintained the same starting five — Andrew Thomas and Jermaine Eluemunor manning the tackle spots, Jon Runyan Jr. and rookie Francis Mauigoa on the interior, and John Michael Schmitz at center — throughout training camp.
No surprises there. Harbaugh all but named Mauigoa the starting right guard when he was drafted in April, and the other four are returning starters. Runyan and Schmitz are in their contract seasons.
According to The Athletic’s Dan Duggan, the second-team offensive line is also mostly set. Marcus Mbow and Josh Ezeudu are the tackles, Daniel Faalele and Aaron Stinnie will play the two guard spots, and Lucas Patrick is the backup at center.
Jaxson Dart should love the New York Giants’ planned offensive line
Multiple things can be true. The odds are strongly against the Giants’ starting offensive line ranking among the greatest in league history. But Dart should nonetheless be thrilled by the prospect of continuity, especially amid the other organizational and roster changes.
Duggan’s news comes after Pro Football Focus questionably suggested that Schmitz could lose his starting center role. There were no indications that the fourth-year lineman was at risk of being benched.
The cynics might argue that the offensive line didn’t live up to its role of protecting Dart last year, but let’s not forget that he’s a dual-threat quarterback who took harsh hits while running. Those plays aren’t necessarily always on the offensive line.
That said, Dart was sacked on 9.36% of his passing attempts, fifth-worst among qualified quarterbacks. Things were worse for Harbaugh and the Ravens, as Lamar Jackson's 10.65% sack percentage ranked second behind only the Raiders’ Geno Smith. It’s worth noting that Faalele started all 17 games for Baltimore last year.
Tight end Isaiah Likely and fullback/tight end Pat Ricard also played for Harbaugh and were tasked with blocking for Jackson. The two-time MVP’s scrambling tendencies only matter so much in this argument, as his 10.65% sack rate was easily the worst of his career and significantly up from 4.63% in 2024.
Why, then, should Dart be excited about the offensive line? Simple: The Giants already know who is starting, and four of the five linemen in question have extensive starting experience. Mauigoa was an All-American and multi-year starter at Miami.
An above-average offensive line would be excellent news for Dart. Now he just needs his receivers to step up and stay healthy ahead of Week 1.
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