BIG BLUE ADD BIG BEEF TO LINE
Giants continue improving run game with Hernandez
Nasty is not exactly the word Dave Gettleman wanted to assign to the style of play of Will Hernandez, the kick-butt guard the Giants took near the top of the second round Friday night in the NFL draft. “He’s cranky,’’ Gettleman said. Seated to Gettleman’s right, head coach Pat Shurmur nodded in agreement. “Cranky’s good,’’ he said. The Giants got a whole lot crankier, nastier and tougher, adding one of Gettleman’s beloved “hog mollies’’ to a draft haul that opened up with running back Saquon Barkley with the No. 2 overall pick. In a span of about 23 hours, the Giants’ running game got a whole lot better.
“I do know this, whether you coach offense, whether you coach defense, it doesn’t matter what position you coach, if you can’t block ’em, nothing works,’’ Shurmur said.
Hernandez is a powerful, 327pound guard from Texas-El Paso, where he went 0-12 this past season, dominating while losing and impressing the Giants with how hard he played, even in the very last game of such a dismal season.
“Got a tremendous amount of pride,’’ Gettleman said.
“It was one of the worst seasons I ever experienced in my life,’’ Hernandez said. “It taught me a lot. It made me so much stronger. The only thing I want to do is make sure that never happens to me again. I just want to win.’’
The third round was used to help out the defense, with the selections of linebacker Lorenzo Carter of Georgia and defensive tackle B.J. Hill of North Carolina State. The Giants had second-round grades on both Carter and Hill.
“I’m thrilled,’’ Shurmur said. “I really believed we were going to get a lot better and I can tell you with the four picks we got a lot better.’’
A four-year starter in college, Hernandez arrives at the exact same draft spot — 34th overall — with which Chris Snee was taken in 2004. Snee was an immediate starter and developed into one of the best offensive linemen in franchise history. The Giants can only hope Hernandez turns out as good.
The Giants, after the first round, were surprised and delighted Hernandez was still on the board — they did not think he would be available to them in the second round. They had what Gettleman called “a solid first-round grade’’ on him and, partnering him with Barkley, their first two picks instantly and immensely upgrade their running game.
Hernandez should start immediately. He was exclusively a left guard in college, but Shurmur said initially, Hernandez will be given a look at both right and left guard. Patrick Omameh, signed in free agency from the Panthers, is a left guard by trade.
“Wherever they decide to put me that’s where I’ll be,’’ Hernandez said. “I’m comfortable on both sides. I don’t worry what’s comfortable or not. I do what my team needs me to do and that’s it.’’
It now appears likely the Giants will have five new starting offensive linemen from the group that started the 2017 season opener. This is not an overhaul as much as it is a total rebuilding.
“We’ve made an effort there to improve ourselves up front so all the guys who do the fancy stuff can do their thing,’’ Shurmur said.
Gettleman vowed the day he stepped through the door the days of accepting a lousy offensive line were over and he put his money where his mouth is. He made left tackle Nate Solder the NFL’s highest-paid offensive lineman, writing a $62 million contract to protect Eli Manning’s blind side. He found Omameh in free agency to be the new left guard. He re-signed Brett Jones to play center after Jones filled in admirably last season.
As far as being called cranky, Hernandez chuckled over the phone.
“On the field I’m a completely different person than I am off the field,’’ Hernandez said. “I take football very serious. It more than a game to me, it’s who I am.’’
During his private visit with the Giants, Hernandez spotted Manning and admitted he felt “it was just crazy I was in the same room with him.’’ One of his jobs with the Giants is to protect Manning.
“It’s so much responsibility and I’m ready to go,’’ Hernandez said. “I got him. I got him 100 percent.’’
Gettleman revealed he tried to trade up into the second round to get Carter, eager to make a passrusher part of this draft class.
“We couldn’t get anything done,’’ Gettleman said.
And so, the Giants waited their turn and, lo and behold, Carter was still on the board.
“We tried, and thank God we didn’t move up,’’ Gettleman said.
The Giants knew they needed to find an edge pass-rusher in a draft not exactly teeming with them. Carter had 14.5 career sacks at Georgia.
“I feel I’m an elite pass-rusher,’’ Carter said. “Got to go out there and show it.’’