Schmitz ready for his biggest test yet
John Michael Schmitz laughed before delivering his answer.
The Giants’ rookie center, drafted in the second round, has had a roller-coaster first season. He missed three games with a shoulder injury and his performance has fluctuated. The team’s offensive line around him has been in constant change, and he’s snapped the ball to three different quarterbacks. What has he taken away from it all? “You’re gonna get beat,” Schmitz told The Post on Thursday. “Have that next-play mentality. At the end of the day, one play is not gonna lose you the game, but one play can win you the game. Keep on fighting, keep on grinding it out.”
That mentality will certainly be required Sunday against the Rams.
Schmitz is likely to have primary blocking duties against Aaron Donald, the Rams’ superstar defensive lineman. Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka called Donald, a seven-time First-Team All Pro and nine-time Pro Bowler, a Hall of Famer. Defensive coordinator Wink Martindale called him an “alien.” He makes even the league’s best centers shake in their boots, let alone a rookie.
Donald, listed at 6-foot-1, 280 pounds, possesses a rare combination of speed and strength. He’s smaller and quicker than most defensive lineman, but as strong as any of them.
In a challenging rookie season, Donald will be Schmitz’s greatest test. Can he maintain his own mantra?
“One of the best to ever do it,” head coach Brian Daboll said of Donald. “He’s always a problem when you play him. As much as you try to gameplan for him, he always finds ways to make plays. He’s one of the best defensive players, he’s unbelievable.”
Schmitz, already 24 after playing five seasons in college at Minnesota, was drafted highly with the expectation he’d be a plug-and-play starter from Day 1. He wasn’t a developmental pick; his vast college experience and NFL-ready body led to the belief he’d be ready right away without a ton of need to adjust to bigger and better opposition like others in the draft.
Schmitz has started every game he’s been healthy, but the results have been mixed.
He owns a 48.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, which makes him the 33rd-ranked center by the outlet. His 44.4 grade during the team’s Christmas Day loss to the Eagles was his third-worst of the year. There has not been any real trend to his performances, with some of his best showings mixed right between some of his worst.
Still, Schmitz and Andrew Thomas are the only two locks to return as starters on the offensive line next year.
“It’s a journey,” Schmitz said. “You can never get too high, you can never get too low. You’re gonna have good days, you’re gonna have bad days. At the end of the day, just take it one day at a time. No matter the outcome, we want to win, but no matter the outcome just keep getting better, keep grinding. Just like [Daboll] says, get 1 percent better each and every day.” Schmitz does not lack examples to follow. Justin Pugh was drafted by the Giants in the first round in 2013 with similar expectations — to be an immediate starter and a solution on the offensive line. Now back in his second stint with the team, Pugh has started the last seven games at left guard right next to Schmitz after originally filling in at left tackle when Thomas was hurt.
“[Schmitz] just continues to mature, not making the same mistakes twice,” Pugh told The Post. “We’re all gonna make mistakes out there, we all have. Learning from them, getting better and better every week, being a sponge off the field. … It’s not easy your rookie year, coming off a college season, going right into training. He’s done a great job fitting in with the group and figuring out what his role is and playing that role really well.”
Pugh similarly endured early rookie-season struggles before developing into a solid 11-year pro.
“It’s definitely harder in New York than probably anywhere else,” Pugh said. “There’s a few other places, a lot of the Northeast teams, they’re rabid fan bases where if you’re a rookie, they expect production right away. Offensive line is one of those positions where you need to learn how to play the position.
“There is nuance to it. It’s not all about who’s the biggest and the strongest. There’s a nuance to learning the playbook, how you play with someone next to you. It’s not just you and one other player, it’s you and five other guys working together. That’s the key that people don’t understand.”