The New York Giants have endured dreadful offensive line play all season long, typically placing dead last in Pro Football Focus’ weekly rankings. However, Big Blue’s front line has seen an improvement in recent weeks, boosting their PFF ranking above the worst in the league.
Giants’ offensive line ranks 28th in the NFL by PFF
In Pro Football Focus’ latest ranking of offensive lines, the Giants’ unit placed 28th in the league. This is a pretty steep improvement considering they were ranked dead last for the majority of the season.
Ranking 28th is still not an impressive spot and still highlights how bad the offensive line has been, however, the unit’s improvements in recent weeks are a cause for encouragement.
Projected starting offensive line in Week 10:
The Giants have deployed a wide variety of offensive line configurations this season. Injuries have caused there to be a constant overturn at each position, forcing Big Blue to sign different fill-ins and change the starting lineup on a week-by-week basis.
The projected starting offensive line in Week 10:
- LT Andrew Thomas
- LG Justin Pugh
- C John Michael Schmitz Jr.
- RG Ben Bredeson
- RT Tyre Phillips
Once again there will be a significant change at the tackle position this week as second-year RT Evan Neal suffered an ankle injury in Week 9. He will miss this Sunday’s matchup, paving the way for Tyre Phillips to return to the starting lineup. Neal was described as “week to week,” so he will likely be absent from the next few games.
- Giants’ offense undergoing modernizing change with Daboll calling plays at camp
- Giants’ rookie safety not practicing at training camp due to calf injury
- The Giants might have a starting corner emerging from the pile
The return of Andrew Thomas makes a huge difference
Andrew Thomas made his return to the field in Week 9 after being sidelined by a hamstring injury for the past two months. Thomas suffered the injury in Week 1. His return in Week 9 had a significant impact on the performance of New York’s offensive line.
“Thomas returned to action following a lengthy injury and was immediately the best Giants offensive lineman on the field. His 80.0 run-blocking grade was the highest single-game mark earned by a Giants lineman all season.”
Zoltán Buday of Pro Football Focus
Despite missing the majority of this season so far, Thomas is still a player in which Big Blue has great confidence. He has proven to be one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL following a 2022 campaign that saw Thomas awarded with a spot on the All-Pro second team. Getting Thomas back and healthy for the rest of the regular season will be huge for the Giants’ offensive line.
