The New York Giants are preparing for one of their most uncertain offensive line battles heading into this summer’s training camp.
Right guard won’t grab headlines, but it may be the team’s biggest question mark before the regular season kicks off.
Instead of upgrading in free agency, the Giants are rolling with 35-year-old Greg Van Roten and a reshuffled Evan Neal.
Neither is a perfect answer — one’s past his prime, the other is learning a new position on the fly.
Greg Van Roten: the veteran fallback
Van Roten started every game at right guard in 2024, logging over 1,100 snaps and staying healthy in a shaky unit.
While dependable in presence, his protection was far from perfect — allowing 35 pressures and seven sacks across the year.
Some of that was circumstantial, as the Giants’ offensive line crumbled around him due to injuries and a revolving door of starters.
But even in the best of circumstances, Van Roten is what he is — steady, serviceable, and limited in upside.
Evan Neal’s transition is filled with uncertainty
Once considered a foundational piece at right tackle, Evan Neal is now trying to reinvent himself inside at guard.
The Giants are giving him reps at left guard in OTAs while Jon Runyan recovers, trying to evaluate where he fits.
There’s optimism about Neal’s size and strength translating to the inside, but it’s still very much an experiment.
A move to guard doesn’t automatically fix his struggles with balance, leverage, and hand placement — all of which plagued him outside.
The job might default to whoever survives
This competition feels less like a high-stakes showdown and more like a race to avoid being the weakest link.
Van Roten brings experience but little explosiveness, and Neal offers hope but very few proven results at this new spot.
For now, it’s hard to say which direction Brian Daboll and Carmen Bricillo will lean as the summer unfolds.
Both players come with caveats, and the Giants must decide which gamble is less likely to cost them games in 2025.
Low expectations, but a high impact role
Even if right guard ends up being the weakest link on the line, it doesn’t need to tank the entire offense.
Think of it like a single loose tooth in a strong jaw — it might hurt occasionally, but you can still chew.
As long as Andrew Thomas, Jon Runyan, Jermaine Eluemunor, and John Michael Schmitz stay upright, the line might just hold together.
Still, with a young quarterback potentially taking over mid-season, every weak spot becomes more glaring and less forgivable.
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