The bone of contention for most New York Giants fans the past few years has been the offensive line. Long neglected by former general manager Jerry Reese, the offensive line fell into disarray under the previous regime and needed significant upgrading under new GM Dave Gettleman.
Gettleman made that abundantly clear upon his arrival in December of 2017. He cited his affinity for big bodies (“hog mollies,” he called them) and vowed to build the team from the line of scrimmage out. He still has work to do but the line appears to be on its way back to respectability.
“I am always going to keep working on those lines, on those groups,” Gettleman said in his final address to the media last year. “You cannot have enough hog mollies, you can’t, because people get hurt. You can’t have enough.”
Head coach Pat Shurmur, having been a hog molly at one time himself at Michigan State, had a similar take.
“I think we are making progress, and I am really pleased with how they progressed at the end of last year,” Shurmur said after the Giants acquired guard Kevin Zeitler from the Cleveland Browns. “To this point, we added a really good player. We are going to continue to do that. I think we also shined a bright light on the fact that it starts up front and we are going to do what we can to address the offensive and defensive lines up front as we move forward.”
Here’s a quick cross-section of the Giants’ offensive line heading into training camp:
Nate Solder, left tackle
Signed to a four-year, $62 million deal last offseason, Solder experienced an up-and-down first year with the Giants. He was fine in his pass blocking but had a sub par year in the run game. The Giants knew they gave Solder a contract that was above the market, but Gettleman had to start somewhere.
Solder missed the Giants’ offseason program after undergoing a procedure on his ankle, but the team expects him to participate in training camp. Even with his issues early on in the season, Solder was still one of the highest-rated Giants last season.
The 31-year-old former two-time Super Bowl champion has never been to the Pro Bowl in his eight-year NFL career in which the first seven were spent with the New England Patriots. His days as a left tackle are not over, however, and the Giants will be starting Solder at left tackle on opening day against Dallas.
As for whether Solder will be a Giant in 2020 is still to be determined. They could conceivably move him to right tackle if they bring in a young left tackle, or simply release him due to salary concerns.
Will Hernandez, left guard
The Giants lucked out in last year’s draft when the Cleveland Browns selected Nevada offensive lineman Austin Corbett at the top of the second round and left UTEP’s Hernandez on the board for the Giants. Some analysts might disagree with that, but based on Hernandez’ performance in 2018 and the intangibles he brings, its difficult to dispute the Giants have the better player.
Hernandez started every game at left guard as a rookie in 2018 and is only going to get better. His synergy with Solder grew as the season unfolded. He gained recognition for his tenacity and toughness and won the respect of his teammates and foes. That will only increase this season.
“Strong, very, very strong. He’s a good young guard,” Zeitler said at the Giants’ minicamp in June. “Even watching today, I think he can be special… He wants to work, he wants to get better every day. I think that’s just the basis of someone who wants to be good in this league.”
Jon Halapio, center
We are assuming that Halapio has the inside track at the center position because he lost it do to injury, breaking his ankle in Week 2 last year and spending the rest of season on injured reserve.
That development did not diminish Halapio’s standing in the eyes of the Giants’ front office and coaching staff.
“He was really playing well for us before he got hurt a year ago,” Shurmur said this spring. “So we had high hopes for him last season. It appears he has come back 100 percent and is back in there just like he was when he left us.”
Halapio will compete for the job in camp with Spencer Pulley, who played 13 games for the Giants last year, starting nine of them at center. He also played fairly well but by the tone of the conversation it seems they are favoring Halapio.
“He made good progress during camp and great progress during the preseason,” said offensive line coach Hal Hunter. “The way he was playing in the beginning of the Dallas game, that was shocking. He was playing really well. When you sit out all that time, you get so far behind physically and technically. Now he is back in the swing of things and he looks good. He is only scratching the surface. He is smart, tough and strong. He has athleticism and needs to continue to play at the position.”
Kevin Zeitler, right guard
Lost in the Odell Beckham, Jr. trade hysteria was the fact the Giants actually made a decent deal with Cleveland when combined with the Olivier Vernon salary dump.
One of the main pieces they received in return was Zeitler, a seven-year veteran who was the highest-rated pass blocking guard in the NFL last year by Pro Football Focus.
The Giants see Zeitler as the perfect compliment to Hernandez.
“You have to love Zeitler,” said Hunter. “He is a tough, hard nose guy. I have seen him play. I watched him play when he was in Cincinnati’s offense. He is a good football player. He brings a real toughness. He is all business. Just be careful when you shake his hand.”
Zeitler’s arrival gives the Giants a solid core in the middle for the first time in many years.
Mike Remmers, right tackle
Remmers is the final piece of the 2019 offensive line rebuild. He was signed to a one-year, $2.5 million deal in mid-May after he was able to pass a physical. Remmers was still recovering from back surgery and did not participate in the Giants’ OTAs or minicamp.
“I worked with Mike for two years,’ Shurmur said after the Giants signed him. “He is a pro, a real pro, and he played winning football for us in Minnesota. I knew a lot about Mike and then he started last year every game and played well. We were in talks with him, took a couple of physicals, just went through the process and signed him.”
Two years ago, Remmers had a very solid year at right tackle in Shurmur’s offense with the Vikings. In 2018, he was shifted to guard and was not as effective. Before his time with the Vikings, Remmers played for Gettleman in Carolina with the Panthers.
This signing appears to be stop-gap, or bridge to another player by the Giants. It’s a “show-me” deal and Remmers needs to play up to snuff if he is to get a contract extension.
Other players
The Giants drafted Kentucky tackle George Asafo-Adjei in the seventh round. “Big George” made an impression in minicamp but the true test will come when they slap the pads on this summer.
Last year’s right tackle, Chad Wheeler is still around, but he seems to be destined to be a swing tackle and will be relegated to backup duty. Also in camp will be tackles Brian Mihalik, Paul Adams and Victor Salako; guards Nick Gates, Chris Slade, Austin Droogsma and centers Evan Brown and James O’Hagan.
The Giants will carry nine lineman, possibly 10, but that would be a stretch.The only way they carry 10 is if they believe since they have three players returning from surgery, they need the depth.
