Ex-Giant rips team for O-line neglect
No good. That is the draft assessment of Shaun O’Hara, the starting center for the Giants on their Super Bowl XLII championship team, a guy who used to get paid to protect Eli Manning.
O’Hara said he did not like the strategy displayed by his former team, taking a quarterback, Davis Webb, in the third round and not taking an offensive lineman high in the draft.
“When looking at this draft pick in the third round, you’re gonna draft a quarterback that’s not gonna play for at least three to four years,” O’Hara said on the NFL Network. “Eli hasn’t missed a game in his entire career, not one game. They still have some holes on the offensive line.
“I love the first-round pick of the tight end, [Evan] Engram. He’s more of a receiver than a tight end. He’s not gonna block at the point of attack. He’s gonna get down the field. I look at this draft, and I can’t believe, again, they’re not going to help out on the offensive line, create some more competition. To me, that thirdround pick was a waste. I think that quarterback, Webb, as good as his arm is, he’s not gonna see the field.”
The Giants finally took an offensive lineman in the sixth round, selecting Adam Bisnowaty of Pittsburgh, but he is not expected to challenge for playing time as a rookie.
“This is Eli Manning’s prime,” O’Hara said. “You just went out and got Brandon Marshall. You added D.J. Fluker to the offensive line. You added this tight end, Evan Engram. You have a great opportunity now to make a huge statement, protect Eli and help him out. I think they’re missing out on it.”
Rather than look to the future for Manning’s possible successor, O’Hara said he believes the Giants should have and addressed the here and now. He liked two offensive linemen, Dion Dawkins of Temple and Taylor Moton of Eastern Michigan, as players the Giants should have gone after in the second round, rather than go with defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson of Alabama then Webb in the third round.
“[If the Giants took Dawkins or Moton,] they would have really helped out that offensive line and helped protect Eli,” O’Hara said. “If they did that, Eli could play another five years.’’