The New York Giants have completely rebuilt the offensive line over the past two years. When general manager Dave Gettleman joined the front office last year, his top priority was to fix the offensive line.
Gettleman fixed the line partially in 2018 but made some mistakes along the way. He signed guard Patrick Omameh to an awful contract, and cut him only seven games into the season. Gettleman also kept Ereck Flowers as a starter for the first two games of the season before cutting him after only five games.
Omameh and Flowers were two of the worst offensive linemen in 2018. Gettleman replaced each of them with acquisitions in the 2019 offseason, such as Kevin Zeitler and Mike Remmers. The left side of the offensive line is solid already so it has not been adjusted, but that is not the only part of the line to remain untouched.
The Giants revamped the right side of the offensive line but left the left side and the center as is. Gettleman is taking a gamble at the center position and sticking with in-house talent. Jon Halapio and Spencer Pulley both started games at center in 2018, and in 2019, they will have a competition to see who will get the starting job.
Why Jon Halapio Might Start
Jon Halapio showed flashes of being an excellent center at the beginning of the 2018 NFL season. Unfortunately, Halapio suffered a gruesome leg injury in Week 2 that caused him to miss the rest of the season.
Halapio’s performance at the beginning of the season was enough to convince Dave Gettleman that Halapio should be the starter. In Gettleman’s end-of-season presser, he urged the press: “Don’t forget about ‘Pio!”
Dave Gettleman reminded the media that Jon Halapio was playing best out of any of the offensive linemen before he went down with his injury. He is not wrong either. Halapio was not necessarily playing at an elite level, but the entire offensive line was playing so poorly that he stood out as the best of the group.
According to Pro Football Focus, Jon Halapio had a 69.4 overall grade before suffering the injury. Through 2 weeks of the season, Halapio had the 2nd best pass blocking grade (87.5) among centers with a minimum of 80 snaps. He was also the highest graded offensive lineman on the Giants through those weeks and the 6th highest graded center in the NFL.
Jon Halapio should have the edge in the competition for the starting job based on his solid performance at the beginning of last season. However, his health is a major question mark, and the man he is competing with does not share this same concern.
Why Spencer Pulley Might Start
The Giants signed Spencer Pulley to a contract extension this offseason. Pulley signed a three-year, $9.6 million deal with Big Blue. This contract could keep Pulley around as the starter or as a long-term backup. If Pulley does not win the starting job, he will be a solid depth player.
There is still reason to believe that Pulley might win the job, though. Pulley played in 13 games for the Giants last year and started 9 of those games. Spencer Pulley certainly is one thing: durable.
Pulley played in 16 games in each of his first two seasons with the Chargers and played in 13 games in 2018 with the Giants. Sometimes, availability is a player’s most important trait, and that is the case with Pulley.
The Giants are likely hoping that the flashes Halapio showed at the beginning of the 2018 season lead to him being the team’s starter. Spencer Pulley was one of the lowest graded players on the Giants in 2018 according to Pro Football Focus, so he will probably serve best as a reliable backup.