John Mara: ‘It’s ridiculous’ that O-line not fixed
ORLANDO — John Mara has lost patience with the Giants’ annual offensive line problems, just like the team’s frustrated fans.
“You’re right, it’s ridiculous,” Mara said Monday. “And it’s a continuing source of frustration for me. It’s time to get it fixed. We invested a couple No. 1 draft picks in the offensive tackles, got a No. 2 draft pick playing center. Now we spent some money in free agency, a new offensive line coach. I expect us to be a hell of a lot better.”
It was imperative that GM Joe Schoen prioritize addressing the offensive line this offseason after the Giants allowed 85 sacks in 2023, the second most all-time by any NFL team. Pro Football Focus ranked the Giants dead last in pass blocking and 30th in run blocking.
Evan Neal, Josh Ezeudu and Marcus Mckethan, all Schoen draft picks from 2022, played a large part in that failure. So did injuries. It also didn’t help that Tommy Devito led the league in sack percentage (15.5%) for quarterbacks with more than 33 drop-backs.
Devito was playing because both Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor got hurt.
“Let’s face it: for a while we couldn’t block anybody,” Mara said. “And Daniel was getting hit all the time.”
So far, Schoen has signed former Raiders tackle/guard Jermaine Eluemunor and former Packers guard Jon Runyan Jr. to headline a handful of O-line additions this spring.
He confirmed the Daily News’ reporting that Neal will remain at right tackle at least to start the 2024 offseason and ramp-up, and Eluemunor will begin at guard, although he has the flexibility to play both.