It looks like one of the bigger position battles this year for the New York Giants will quite predictably be on the offensive line, which is getting reshaped after poor performances during much of the last season – a factor which played a huge role in the Giants being nearly completely out of the playoff picture by the time the midway point of the season rolled around.
Chad Wheeler is the one who came into the offseason as the established starter at right tackle and that position hasn’t been removed from him just because the Giants signed Vikings tackle Mike Remmers – who immediately was projected by experts to take the job and to likely improve the play on that side. However, Wheeler intends to keep the position battle competitive, and the coaches themselves haven’t just named Remmers the starter yet.
“I’m going to bring my best, he’s going to bring his best. We’re gonna let the chips fall where they fall,” Wheeler told the New York Post.
“Obviously I’m still here. I showed flashes, I guess. I saw some plays where I shined and did well and then other plays were just, I don’t know if I was patient enough or didn’t get off the ball enough or just my set, hand placement, got to get lower in the run game, get my second step down. There’s all these little things I’m trying to become very consistent at so I help our O-line ascend,” Wheeler continued.
Those flashes from last season came when Wheeler replaced the much maligned Ereck Flowers, who the Giants ended their three year experiment with last October. Wheeler wasn’t the best right tackle in the league by any means, and was considered by many to be subpar, but still offered better performances than the player that he had come in to replace. With Remmers coming off of an injury that helped lead to his exit in Minnesota, Wheeler is being given a real chance to improve here and compete for the starting job.
“He just needs to get better with every rep he is presented with. I think he has done that. We like his focus and his attention to detail. He is doing everything he can to get better,” Giants head coach Pat Shurmur stated.
Remmers himself is welcoming the competition. “I mean, honestly, competition makes everyone better. They have some great players here and even though they need that spot, there’s a lot of competition out there still and that will help everyone develop and get everybody ready for the season.”