5 main NY Giants takeaways from the preseason loss to the Lions

3. Rookie center John Michael Schmitz impressed

Of all the rookie performances, we've got to shout out John Michael Schmitz as being the best of the group. Schmitz got the start in this one, with Daboll taking off the training wheels right away and giving him a shot to do his thing. He did just that, holding his own and more against the Lions on Friday night.

Schmitz did a solid job both protecting Taylor and DeVito, while also doing his best to open up holes for the NY running backs. Unfortunately, the run game was basically non-existent for the Giants against Detroit, but that's not on Schmitz at all. Schmitz comes off as a nice kid, but he's the first to admit that he plays with a nasty side as well.

As encouraging as it was to see Schmitz play well, the rest of the offensive line didn't look great at all. Depth is clearly still an issue for the Giants offensive line, and the backups will need to elevate their play the rest of the preseason, especially Wyatt Davis and Korey Cunningham. With Schmitz, this was his pro debut and things could not have gone much better for the former Minnesota hoss. The potential is there for the youngster.