4 OL the Giants should still bring in after signing Justin Pugh
By Zak Musso
Will the New York Giants ever have a good offensive line? For the last decade, Giants fans have watched season after season derailed by porous offensive line play, leading to terrible offenses.
Every time you think the Giants offensive line woes reached rock bottom, they bust through the rock floor, and go further down. Monday night's debacle against Seattle was one of those instances, as Big Blue gave up 11 sacks in New York's 24-3 loss. Daniel Jones certainly deserves his share of the blame, and not all sacks are on the o-line; some are on the quarterback, and others are on the skill players.
Still, New York's o-line is PFF's second-worst graded offensive line in football and is tied for the worst pass-blocking efficiency. If New York wants to somehow turn things around, they need to shore up the line. They need to add players from outside of the building, with these four as options:
4. OG Gabe Jackson
The Giants need help at tackle and help on the inside. New York's two best interior linemen, rookie center John Michael Schmitz and veteran guard Ben Bredeson, have battled injuries this season. Now, even struggling reserve Shane Lemieux is also hurt. New York needs veteran help in the interior badly.
Gabe Jackson, a nine-year NFL veteran, spent the last two seasons in Seattle after spending the first seven with the Raiders. Jackson is known for his physical, chippy play, which New York's line has lacked in 2023.
Jackson's play fell off last season, which led to his release, but he was a serviceable player in 2021. PFF gave the veteran a 63.6 overall offensive grade that season, which is better than all nine New York offensive linemen who have taken a snap in 2023, including Andrew Thomas. His 2021 run-blocking grade would be the best on New York's line, and he would rank third in pass blocking, though number one among interior players. Jackson grades as a backup offensive lineman, but given the current state of Big Blue's line, he would immediately start and be an upgrade.