The New York Giants have executed a full rebuild of their offensive line aside from left tackle Andrew Thomas. Injecting multiple draft picks and salary space into the unit should improve the efficiency, but the center spot still remains a bit of a question mark.
Offensive line coach Bobby Johnson preferred to add John Feliciano, giving him a chance to start at center after only spending 323 snaps at the position in his career. Feliciano has learned from several great players at the position, one of them being Mitch Morse with the Buffalo Bills. Jon has experience at left and right guard as well, giving him plenty of value if he ends up in a reserve role.
However, the Giants could look for more competition at center with former Cleveland Browns lineman JC Tretter.
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Bleacher Report’s Alex Ballentine believes the Giants could be a fit for Tretter:
Tretter’s departure from Cleveland had more to do with financials and little to do with his level of play or health. He was the fifth-highest graded player on the roster by Pro Football Focus and only gave up one sack on the season.
The veteran center is set to enter his age-31 season, but health shouldn’t be a concern. He has played in 16 games in each of the last five seasons.
What does JC Tretter offer the New York Giants?
Tretter has 10 years of experience in the NFL, enjoying 6,263 total snaps at center. In fact, he’s one of the best pass-blocking centers in all of football. Last season, he gave up one sack, one quarterback hurt, and eight hurries.
If general manager Joe Schoen is still considering adding more talent to the OL, Tretter should be high on their list of targets. In fact, Tretter ranked 2nd behind Corey Linsley last season in the pass-blocking efficiency. He ranked 10th in run-blocking, surrounded by some decent company.
The question is, do the Giants have the necessary funding to even consider JC? Currently, Big Blue has $6.28 million in salary space. Signing Tretter would likely force them to push a good chunk of his salary hit to next season.
There’s an argument to be made that improving the OL as much as possible will benefit Daniel Jones, but in the midst of a rebuild, taking a more financially conservative approach is more appropriate.