Jones has never had a good OL, and that aint changing in 2024. Any success he has is going to be rushing, I mean running for his life.
I think the Oline will be much better than the 32nd ranking that PFF gave them heading into this season ... closer to what we had in 2022 when we made the playoffs and Jones had a pretty good season.
He's never had good WRs either ... All of the WRs (except Slayton) are now from the Schoen Daboll regime ... so that can't be an excuse anymore
The Giants OL is one situation I see ripe for a potentially surprising and dramatic improvement, health notwithstanding.
But if you look at this unit, talent wise, it feels there is now enough pedigree to come together:
Andrew Thomas has emerged as one of the best LT's in the NFL
Runyan and Eluemenor were solid to above average signings this off-season while JM Schmitz is now entering Year 2 after being drafted in Rd 2 last year.
Obviously the wild card here is Neal at RT and his first two seasons have been abysmal. This is a make or break year for him, but it wasn't that long ago that Thomas was being ridiculed as being a bust.
Sam and Steve talked about the OL rankings on this week’s PFF NFL Podcast show (redundant name but that’s what they call it lol.)
One point they made, and I’ve heard others say something similar, is that for about two-thirds of the league you can make a case for “hey this line might be OK. They’ve got this former 1st rounder, they drafted player Xxx, so-and-so is a good player who has had bad luck with injuries, if these guys stay healthy and gell…” Thing is, when you look at one OL you can come away feeling OK about them.
But when you look at it across the board, you realize the teams in the bottom 3 and Top 4 have vast differences. Talent is one critical component, but equally important is year over year retention.
Also depth is a huge factor bc injuries are inevitable. Every year you’re going to have multiple games with more than one starting OL out. That’s normative.
I would also say that as far as positional coaches go, having a great OL Assistant is a massive advantage.
- they have a good (when healthy) LT in Andrew Thomas, pretty much the lone bright spot
- 2022 7th overall pick RT Evan Neal has been a massive disappointment (41.8 and 39.8 PFF grade), and C John Michael Schmitz looked underwhelming as a rookie (41.4)
- adding guard Jon Runyan (56.5 PFF grade in 2023) and guard/tackle Jermaine Eluemunor in free agency this offseason are not difference making moves; guard Mark Glowinski, another FA signing, was mediocre in his two Giants seasons.
- 32nd in pass blocking, 30th in run blocking last year, and they did very little to improve their personnel
- depth is a major concern
- new OL Assistant Coach Carmen Bricillo spent the previous 2 years with the Raiders after 2 years with the Pats; mixed bag, at best
Not great, Bob.