The offensive line has been a huge problem for the NY Giants for well over a decade at this point. The issue has spanned multiple regimes and still, for some reason, cannot be fixed.
With the last front office, Dave Gettleman drafted Andrew Thomas at No. 4 overall in 2020, but missed on so many before and after. Thomas has panned out to be one of the best left tackles in the league, his development making him a cornerstone for years to come. The list goes on with the failed experiments on the offensive line. Nate Solder, Jon Halapio, Mike Remmers, Will Hernandez, Shane Lemieux, Cam Fleming are just a small portion of names that have come and gone on the offensive line.
When Joe Schoen came to town, he knew they needed talent on the offensive line and has actually done quite a bit to solve the problem in his short amount of time as general manager. With the Giants headed to likely another Top 5 pick in April, here's why taking an offensive tackle would be a mistake.
Taking another offensive lineman in the first round would be a mistake for the Giants
In @tankathon recent 2024 NFL Mock Draft:
— Doug Rush (@TheDougRush) December 27, 2023
The Giants, again with the No. 5 overall pick, select Penn State offensive lineman Olu Fashanu.
Just like in the earlier mock draft posted, Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels are selected before the Giants pick at 5.
Bo Nix… pic.twitter.com/aTQvdjgmB2
This scenario is interesting and could become possible. It all depends on if Chicago is going to keep Justin Fields or not. All indications are Washington selecting a quarterback, especially after benching Sam Howell in favor of Jacoby Brissett for the final two games of the year. New England could definitely take a new quarterback as well.
In the Giants' case, Tankathon has them taking Penn State tackle Olu Fashanu with the fifth pick. If this were to happen, it'd be a pretty big move in terms of the right tackle position. Fashanu started every game at left tackle for Penn State this season, so it'd be another switch to right tackle like they did with Evan Neal. Speaking of Neal, the regime would basically be giving up on him, at least at the tackle position.
The question becomes, why would the Giants go through the exact scenario again? It's no secret that Neal needs to play better and potentially find a replacement to at least come in and compete. But to find that replacement with another Top 10 pick seems a little extreme. Here's the main problem with the Giants' offensive line: Bobby Johnson. It's a developmental issue for the offensive line.
Over the last 4 years, the Giants:
— Jake Barrow (@DoABarrowRoll) December 26, 2023
have drafted more OL in the top 10 (Andrew Thomas, Evan Neal) than the entire AFC combined (Jedrick Wills)
account for 25% of top 10 OL picks (2/8)
are the only team to spend 5 top 100 picks on OL
are T(4-6) in draft picks spent on OL (7)
This is proof that the Giants haven't been neglecting the offensive line in the draft, but they're just not seeing a return on their investment. That then falls on scouting/coaching these players. If the Giants really wanted to help stabilize the right tackle position, why would they throw another rookie at the problem and hope it works?
Schoen drafted three linemen in his first draft (Neal, Joshua Ezeudu and Marcus McKethan) and John Michael Schmitz this past April. Properly developing offensive linemen is the issue, not adding more bodies for the sake of saying you're "fixing" the problem.
Bobby Johnson can't survive this. https://t.co/Vy1kr6zguQ
— Giants Daily (@NYGDaily) December 25, 2023
One of the top priorities for the Giants this offseason has to be finding a top offensive line coach. Money should be no object in this case. This problem has gone on for far too long and spending another top pick on a lineman is not going to solve the deeper problems that lie with the Giants offensive line.