5 significant questions for the NY Giants offensive line this season

For as long as many can remember, the NY Giants offensive line has been an area of concern heading into the season. Even back when Eli Manning was still leading the team into the final seasons of his Hall of Fame career, the offensive line was always a worry.

Going back to the 2013 season when the final parts from the 2011 team that won the Super Bowl started to close out their careers, the Giants were finishing in the mid-to-late 20s as far as ranks go. When Daniel Jones took over for Manning in 2019, the Giants had their best ranking over the last 10 years; they finished 17th in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.

After that, the Giants lines have finished 31st in 2020, 30th in 2021 and even during a playoff season in 2022, they finished 30th again. If anything, the offensive line playing this poorly with Saquon Barkley’s production is a clear case for the Giants to pay him.

On the other side of that, the Giants giving Jones a four-year, $160 million contract was a reason for Joe Schoen to turn around and improve the line drastically because Schoen needs the line to protect their investment at quarterback heading into the 2023 season. So, with the season rapidly approaching, what concerns surround the Giants offensive line heading into the upcoming year?

5. Will Evan Neal showcase major improvement in 2023?

Everyone was excited to see the Giants land Evan Neal with the seventh overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Most figured the Giants now had their next right tackle who could help anchor the right side with Andrew Thomas on the other side for the next 10-15 years.

While Neal had his moments where he looked the part of holding his own, he also had his struggles during the season. Neal allowed seven sacks and 22 hurries during his rookie season. At times, he looked like an NFL rookie who had a lot to learn.

There were some bright spots during Neal’s rookie campaign; the victories against the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts had him graded out highly in both the pass and run block.

Neal decided to take his improvements to another level, as he worked alongside former Cincinnati Bengals right tackle Willie Anderson to improve his stance and technique this offseason. Anderson is considered one of the best right tackles to ever play in the league, so kudos to Neal for picking a really good mentor to help him work on his skills and improve for next season.

In order for the Giants offensive line to take the next step, Neal needs to improve drastically from what we all saw in his rookie year. Granted, rookies can go through those growing pains early on, but now the Giants need for Neal to look and play the part of a veteran in that second year.