G-Men are foolish if they don’t pursue o-linemen in free agency
As the NFL free-agent frenzy stretched into Friday, the Giants were reportedly finishing an overnight visit with Pro Bowl wide receiver Kenny Golladay in East Rutherford.
It became clear that if the Giants, with limited cap space capabilities, were going to make a big splash on the market, Golladay would be it. The majority of top players went off the board earlier in the week, including breakout edge rusher Leonard Floyd, who opted to return to the Rams despite interest from New York.
Make no mistake: The Giants need more play-makers for their putrid 31st-ranked scoring offense to improve next season, and the 6-foot-4 Golladay is the type of big body that would be perfect in Jason Garrett’s system. There will also be a bevy of options with the No. 11 pick in next month’s draft.
But here’s the reality: It won’t matter how many weapons the Giants give to Daniel Jones if the offensive line continues what has virtually become a decade’s worth of struggles.
As of now, the Giants’ actions in free agency show they’re content to trot into 2021 with a starting lineup of left tackle Andrew Thomas, left guard Will Hernandez, center Nick Gates, right guard Shane Lemieux and right tackle Matt Peart. Hernandez
is the only player with more than one year of starting experience, and he lost his starting left guard spot to Lemieux last November. Peart has made only one career start.
Is that really the unit you want to have blocking up front in a make-or-break third season for Jones?
The Giants are in this situation because they cut ties with reliable veteran Kevin Zeitler, a tough business decision that boiled down to the fact that doing so freed up a whopping $12 million in cap space. They are retaining veteran Nate Solder on a cheaper deal, but with how much general manager Dave Gettleman has spoke about the youth of the line, it’s clear the Giants view the 32-yearold as little more than depth insurance — rightfully so given his declining performance.
But half of why it made sense to release Zeitler is that many other veterans are in the same boat, searching for cheaper contracts with new deals in a down market due to COVID-19’s impact on the league-wide salary cap.
Trai Turner, a 27-year-old guard who has been to five Pro Bowls, remains on the market since being cut by the Chargers last Friday. Other proven guards available are Zach Fulton, Nick Easton, Lane Taylor and James Carpenter, who have made a combined 293 starts in 31 seasons.
It makes zero sense that the Giants have not been linked to any offensive linemen
in the first wave of free agency.
Sure, they could target the position in the draft again, but the point is that they need reliable starters in such a critical year for evaluating whether Jones can truly be the franchise quarterback, and if star running back Saquon Barkley can return to form from a torn ACL before deciding whether to give him a long-term contract or exercise his fifth-year option.
Gambling on a young group to develop as planned could pan out, but that’s a dangerous leap of faith even under normal circumstances.
The Giants tried that before with a previous regime when they assumed tackles Ereck Flowers and Bobby Hart would blossom in 2017 after gaining experience, and their struggles ended up being at the forefront of the worst season in franchise history.
To Gettleman’s credit, the moves that the Giants have made so far have been sound.
By inking one-year contracts with wide receiver John Ross and defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo, the Giants are taking cheap fliers on young players with upside. That’s exactly what a rebuilding team should be doing.
The team also has a nice blend of tight ends since adding veteran Kyle Rudolph on a two-year deal to the mix
with Evan Engram, Kaden Smith and Levine Toilolo.
Rudolph’s production as a receiver has declined, but he should still be a nice red-zone threat with 48 touchdowns. At 6-foot-6 with solid blocking, he can effectively complement the speedy Engram as a traditional in-line tight end. Rudolph’s body type is akin to future Hall of Famer Jason Witten, who thrived in Garrett’s offense in Dallas.
The Giants also plan to meet with free agent Adoree’ Jackson on Sunday, according to ESPN. The 25-year-old is arguably the top cornerback on the market. He was the Titans’ first-round pick in 2017, but Tennessee cut him this week after he missed nearly the entire 2020 season with a knee injury.
Jackson ranks fourth in Pro Football Focus’ coverage grades of corners since 2018, and if healthy, he could give the Giants one of the NFL’s best corner tandems with James Bradberry.
Still, as the Giants look toward the second and third waves of free agency, they can’t continue to neglect the position that remains far from being reliably serviceable in 2021.
Shore up the offensive line.