The 2019 offseason saw the New York Giants let go of many big-name players. The Giants traded away their best player, Odell Beckham Jr., traded away their best pass-rusher, Olivier Vernon, and let their best defender, Landon Collins, walk away in free agency.
With all these losses, the Giants needed to acquire some serious talent to make up for it. Luckily, the Giants got some solid compensation for these departures.
The Giants replaced Landon Collins when they received do-it-all safety Jabrill Peppers in the Odell trade. They also signed pass-rusher Marcus Golden and drafted Oshane Ximines to plug the hole Vernon left. But the Giants’ most important acquisition in the 2019 offseason (who will actually start and play in 2019) is Kevin Zeitler.
Kevin Zeitler Stats And Highlights
The New York Giants received Kevin Zeitler in exchange for Olivier Vernon. This was a win-win trade for both teams. Kevin Zeitler was a key component in the late-year success for Baker Mayfield last season. He will also be a key component for Daniel Jones’s future success, as well as Eli Manning’s success in 2019.
Only a small handful of quarterbacks in the NFL can efficiently operate behind a poor offensive line. Eli Manning is not one of those quarterbacks in 2019. He was in 2011-2012, but that was 7 years ago. Manning needs a good offensive line in front of him in order to succeed, but unfortunately, he has not had one in a long time.
Eli Manning was sacked a career-high 47 times in 2018. Kevin Zeitler was the perfect addition to the Giants’ offensive line in order to bring that number down. Zeitler is considered the best pass-blocking guard in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus.
Kevin Zeitler allowed only 11 total pressures in the entire 2018 NFL season. That is an incredibly impressive number. To put it in perspective,  Patrick Omameh and Jamon Brown combined to allow 39 pressures in only 14 games last year.
The Giants’ offensive line is one of the most-improved units in the NFL after this offseason, thanks mostly to Kevin Zeitler. The Giants also signed right tackle Mike Remmers this offseason. This additions of Zeitler and Remmers completed the Giants’ offensive line rebuild that general manager Dave Gettleman promised when he got the job last offseason.
This improved offensive line is not only huge for Eli Manning but for Daniel Jones, too. The Duke offensive line was one of the worst-graded offensive lines in 2018 according to Pro Football Focus. When Daniel Jones gets his opportunity to start for the Giants’ having an excellent pass-blocker in Kevin Zeitler will help him tremendously.