5 OL the Giants and Joe Schoen should focus on for the 2024 NFL Draft
Will Joe Schoen look to draft a lineman in the early rounds yet again?
By Zak Musso
Happy Holidays, everybody! The Holiday season is a joyous and exciting time. In a football sense, the holidays are when the playoff push starts around the league. On New Year's Day 2023, the Giants kicked off the year by romping the Colts 38-10 to clinch a playoff berth.
Unfortunately for Big Blue, when they take on the Eagles in Philadelphia on Christmas Day and the Rams in New Jersey on New Year's Eve, the games will only have playoff meaning for one squad, and that team is not the Giants.
If the Giants want the holidays to bring meaningful games in 2024, they will need to fix a bunch of roster holes, none bigger than the offensive line. Here are five offensive linemen Joe Schoen needs to study up on before the 2024 NFL Draft;
5. Penn State's Olu Fashanu
Before I dig into the prospects, let's discuss the current state of the Giants' offensive line. Andrew Thomas, a 2020 first-round pick, is solidified as New York's left tackle of the future, while Evan Neal, a Big Blue 2022 first-round pick, will likely get another chance to prove his worth at right tackle in 2024 despite his immense early career struggles. John Michael Schmitz, Big Blue's 2023 second-round pick, looks like the center of the future. The two guard spots are wide open.
The Giants have spent a ton of draft capital on the offensive line in recent years, so it would be a better use of resources for New York to sign veteran tackles to stabilize the offensive line. If Schoen decides to move Neal to guard, drafting a tackle comes into play. He indicated earlier this season he's not inclined to do that, but we can't rule it out.
Olu Fashanu, who declared for the NFL Draft on Friday, is the consensus top tackle on the board. Fashanu has not allowed a single sack in 1,349 offensive snaps in three seasons at Penn State. Fashanu's best ability is pass blocking, which has been the Giants Achilles heel for the last decade.
Standing at 6-6 and 319 pounds, the Maryland native has the size, strength, and athleticism to play Pro Bowl-caliber football from Day 1.