DRAWIN’ A LINE
Illinois’ Adams, Washington’s Rosengarten could be keys to fixing Giants’ OL
MOBILE, Ala. – The Giants’ fingerprints are on the offensive linemen at the Senior Bowl, where a duo on the right side of the National Team’s line stood out Wednesday. Illinois guard Isaiah Adams and Washington tackle Roger Rosengarten picked up a stunt, passing off their defenders cleanly, as Giants quarterbacks coach and National Team offensive coordinator Shea Tierney looked on.
Adams won the majority of his matchups. Rosengarten moved well in space and fared well in 1-on-1s. Giants offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo took Rosengarten aside later in practice to share some advice.
And both players said their meetings with the Giants went well this week. Adams has actually met with them twice.
“I had two really good meetings,” Adams told the News on Wednesday afternoon. “They’ve gone well. I’ve been able to talk a lot about football and a lot about my journey, and I think they understand how much this game means to me.”
“A lot of great film with the Giants,” Rosengarten said. “Had the meeting, board work, film … I’m just here to compete and prove that I belong with these high-level guys.”
These are just two of 28 offensive linemen on the Senior Bowl field this week, but the Giants’ proximity and attention to them, their performance and the team’s positional needs up front create some intrigue with Adams and Rosengarten.
Joe Schoen, who has watched all the offensive linemen closely here this week, can’t count on his former No. 7 overall pick Evan Neal to be the Giants’ starting right tackle in 2024. Replacement right tackle Tyre Phillips tore his quad entering free agency.
Guards Justin Pugh and Ben Bredeson are free agents, and Schoen draft picks Josh Ezeudu and Marcus McKethan present no clear solutions, either. Adams, a junior college transfer from Ajax, Ontario, is a versatile and agile guard with tackle flex. He played tackle at Garden City Community College (Kansas) in 2021. He played 25 games in his two years at Illinois all over the line: 12 games at left guard and one at left tackle in 2022, and 10 at right tackle and two at left guard in 2023.
Then he played right guard at the Senior Bowl on Wednesday.
The Giants would need to judge whether he fits Brian Daboll’s run blocking scheme, but he’s an athlete, and it shows.
“I played (ice) hockey in third grade until eighth grade, played basketball, played soccer, rugby in high school,” said Adams, whose uncle played minor-league hockey in Canada. “All those sports have allowed me to become a better athlete.
“I would love to play in New York,” he added. “A place that values O-linemen is appealing to me as a big guy.”
Rosengarten, meanwhile, started 28 games at right tackle the past two seasons for the Huskies, who
reached the National Championship Game this season. And he has an edge.
He said Washington preaches playing “hard, tough and physical,” and he clearly has a chip on his shoulder from skimming pre-draft reports of more heralded tackles.
“I know there’s a lot of offensive tackles here getting a lot of hype,” Rosengarten said. “I may fly under the radar, but I feel like my film so far has proven I’m right up there with those guys.”
He said what sets him apart is “my ability to finish, my athleticism and a “strain’ mentality.”
“I never went through a college game in my career where I could say I didn’t play as hard as I could have,” he said. “I bring that level aspect to my game. And I really think my athletic ability, mixed with my speed and strength, could really help a team out.”
The Giants no doubt will use free agency along with the draft to try to improve their line quickly for 2024. So they could very well sign a veteran like Raiders right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor, whom Bricillo coached in Las Vegas, rather than take a second swing at that position in the draft.
Still, Bricillo is here to develop players, too, not just coach the starters. His work with an unheralded Raiders group in 2023 was impressive. So maybe his advice to Rosengarten on Wednesday was the beginning of something.
“He was giving me advice on some technique that he’s seen,” Rosengarten said. “He’s the offensive line coach for the New York Giants, so he’s seen it all … It doesn’t matter who the coach is. I’m gonna take all the bits and pieces of information I can get.”
Adams and Rosengarten agreed they paired well on Wednesday, especially on what Rosengarten called that “really good stunt.”
“Anyone who’s beside me I’m gonna communicate with and give them a hand and hopefully build that chemistry,” Adams said.
That gave the Giants more valuable information on what their chemistry up front might look like in 2024.
DOMINOES FALL FROM SEATTLE
The Seattle Seahawks chose Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike McDonald as their next head coach over several candidates, including Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka. But Seattle seemed to have a high opinion of Kafka during the process, so it’s worth wondering if the Seahawks might try to get him as their offensive coordinator instead.
McDonald’s hiring also means Ravens DBs coach Dennard Wilson, a candidate for the Giants’ defensive coordinator vacancy, may get an internal promotion rather than leave for a job with the Giants, Rams or Titans.
The Commanders now are the only team without a head coach. Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is a candidate, but if he were their first choice, Washington would have hired him already. Bill Belichick, Mike Vrabel and Pete Carroll, meanwhile, are all still free agents at the moment.