Empire Writes Back
Fansided

New York Giants Rumors: Offensive Line Help Still Coming?

By Kenneth Teape

Sep 13, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; New York Giants offensive tackle Ereck Flowers (76) without his helmet in the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Dallas won 27-26. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 13, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; New York Giants offensive tackle Ereck Flowers (76) without his helmet in the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. Dallas won 27-26. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

New York Giants Rumors: Despite not adding an offensive lineman yet in free agency, it is an area the Giants should still be looking to address.

New York Giants rumors have slowed down in recent days after their quick start to NFL Free Agency. While they have done a lot to upgrade a porous defense, the Giants still have some areas that they need to upgrade heading into the regular season. One of those areas is on the offensive line.

Despite having constant shifting along the offensive line because of injuries, the Giants have still managed to get great seasons from Eli Manning in his first two seasons under Ben McAdoo. Now with McAdoo taking over as the head coach, they are hoping those good seasons will continue rolling. One way to ensure that is to upgrade the offensive line to help keep Manning standing in the pocket instead of on his back.

“We need to do a good job of keeping him upright,” McAdoo said last week at the NFL owners meetings. “To push the ball down the field a little bit more, it takes a little bit longer to do that. So we would like to do that, so we need to keep him upright when we’re throwing the ball downfield.”

More from Empire Writes Back

Part of the season for Manning’s efficiency has been the scaled back downfield attempts. But, with a player of the caliber of Odell Beckham Jr., the Giants should have a chance to take more chances with deep balls; the offensive line just has to give Manning more time.

The Giants have yet to sign an offensive lineman this offseason, but they have a solid foundation in place. They have used high picks on the offensive line in each of the last three seasons, starting with Justin Pugh in the first round of 2013, Weston Richburg in the second round of 2014 and Ereck Flowers in the first round of 2015. That looks to be the future of the left side for the Giants, with Flowers at left tackle, Pugh at left guard and Richburg at center.

They all look locked into starting spots, but the same cannot be said for the right side of the line. With Geoff Schwartz released, the Giants do not have many options to go with on that side on the line. All they have in house currently are the incumbent John Jerry, Marshall Newhouse and last season’s seventh round pick Bobby Hart.

More from Giants Rumors

Marshall was expected to fill a depth role for the Giants last season, but when Will Beatty suffered his injury he was thrust into the starting lineup with Flowers taking over at left tackle. Newhouse is a player that the Giants like, but someone they would like to see on their depth chart not in the starting lineup. Jerry is someone they like as well, and he could find himself with a starting job once again if the Giants do not find a viable replacement.

“John Jerry’s a battler, now,” McAdoo said. “He’s going to go out there and give you what he has and he’s going to fight you. We like John Jerry. Marshall Newhouse is a guy we brought in for depth reasons, and when he had his opportunity, he played well for us. Glad to have Marshall back.”

If the Giants are able to upgrade at either right guard or tackle, keeping Jerry or Newhouse wouldn’t be a huge problem. Having the two of them together is underwhelming, but if they can upgrade on one spot the other becomes serviceable with better talent surrounding him.

More ny sports: Osi Umenyiora's 5 most memorable moments

Adding another veteran to this group would surprise no one, as the Giants need to find a way to keep Manning standing in the pocket and get the run game going to complement him. If they are unable to find a free agent worth adding, the Giants could once again look to the draft to upgrade the offensive line, as they have had success there in the last few seasons with Pugh, Richburg and Flowers.

Home/Giants Rumors