General manager Dave Gettleman of the New York Giants made it a priority to find the puzzle pieces on the offensive line when he was hired two years ago.
After years of lackluster play in the trenches, the Giants finally had what seemed to be a serviceable front five. However, against the Minnesota Vikings, the line was torn apart by a superior defensive front. The unit allowed four sacks on the night and gave up far too many quarterback hits on rookie passer, Daniel Jones.
Jones has had bouts of good offensive line play, but the reality is, much improvement is needed for them to enabled the rookie‘s peak potential.
The real problem on the line has been Nate Solder; the starting left tackle for the Giants who signed a four year, $62 million deal with Big Blue last season.
After the 2019 campaign the New York Giants have a decision to make:
They have a potential out in his contract, which would count $13 million in dead cap; otherwise, they will pay him an average of $20 million per season over the next two years. With his performance the past few weeks, having Solder as the starting left tackle might not be worth the monetary investment.
They can probably find someone equally as talented for half the price considering how poorly he’s played. There have been no injury designations to Solder which have limited him in the past, which is the most concerning part of his porous season.
Aside from solder’s deficiencies, the rest of the line has been solid, apart from Mike Remmers at right tackle periodically. Will Hernandez and Kevin Zeitler have both been quality guards so far this year and will remain Giants for the foreseeable future.
The tackles have been the most concerning part and will need to be reevaluated after the 2019 season. Putting Jones under immense pressure will only stunt his growth and force unnecessary turnovers, something we have seen plenty of with Eli Manning over the last half a decade. This is a serious issue and must be solved one way or another, whether it means Solder elevating his game or the Giants finding someone to replace him.