The New York Giants hired general manager Dave Gettleman three off-seasons ago when the team was in need of a rebuild but instead took a more expedited angle toward resurrection. They drafted Saquon Barkley with the second overall pick and reinforced the offensive line with Nate Solder at left tackle.
Gettleman has been given ample time to solve the primary issues the Giants faced when he took over. A lackluster blocking scheme, a poor running game, and inconsistent defense, etc. In the 2018 draft, the Giants landed Will Hernandez, Lorenzo Carter, and BJ Hill in the first three rounds.
The anticipation was that these players would help immediately, and that was the case with Barkley and Hernandez. Even Hill contributed a tad to the overall production of the team, which wasn’t much.
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The question is, has Gettleman been given too much time to piece together the New York Giants’ offensive line?
The answer isn’t so simple. After investing $62 million over four years on Solder, the Giants also had Hernandez at left guard. At center, they had Spencer Pulley and right tackle Chad Wheeler. At right guard, they had Jamon Brown, who was formally selected in the third round by the St. Louis Rams in 2015.
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The right side of the line was extremely inadequate, despite Saquon Barkley managing to produce anyway. Over 16 games in his rookie campaign, he logged 1,307 yards on the ground, 721 yards through the air, and 15 total touchdowns.
Fast forward to 2019, and the line did experience a bit more success. With Mike Remmers at right tackle and Kevin Zeitler at right guard, the primary issue was Solder at left tackle. He allowed 11 sacks and five penalties in his worst season to date. This forced the Giants to draft Andrew Thomas with the fourth overall pick and spend a third-round selection on University of Connecticut tackle Matt Peart.
While three offseasons should be enough to solve the line, it is impossible to predict personal issues, like the ones Nate faced with his son dealing with cancer treatments. That inadvertently affected Hernandez and his performance as well as Halapio at center.
Finding Nick Gates as an undrafted free agent in 2019 should help the continuity of the unit exponentially, especially in the financial department. If he can lock down a starting position, whether it is at right tackle or center, the New York Giants should be in better shape. In addition, Cameron Fleming, who has experience at both left and right tackle, should serve as adequate depth.
If the offensive line takes a significant step forward in 2020, it will justify Gettleman’s retention with Big Blue. However, if they struggle once again and require change, the time on his internal firing clock will quickly tick away.