Training camp preview: New York Giants biggest question on the offensive line

That is easy — the health of star left tackle Andrew Thomas

The offensive line has been a Rubik’s Cube for the New York Giants for more than a decade. Multiple general managers and head coaches have tried to solve the puzzle, but success has been elusive, fleeting at best.

As we enter 2025, there are again plenty of questions about the line that will try to protect whichever of Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, or Jaxson Dart is taking the snaps from center.

The biggest one, though, is easy to identify, crucial to the Giants’ chances for success this season, but impossible to answer.

Can the Giants get a full, healthy season out of star left tackle Andrew Thomas?

That has not happened since 2022, when Thomas was a second-team All-Pro. Not coincidentally, the Giants that year won their only playoff game since the 2011 Super Bowl season.

In Thomas’s two injury-plagued seasons since, the Giants have gone 9-25. Thomas’s lack of availability is not the only reason for the Giants’ issues, but their inability to adequately replace their best offensive lineman has not helped.

Thomas has played in just 16 of 34 games the past two seasons. The Giants are 3-15 with him out of the lineup, 6-10 with him in it.

Thomas did not practice this spring. He was rarely seen at practice with his teammates as he rehabbed from Lisfranc foot surgery out of view of the media’s prying eyes.

The Giants have said there is nothing to worry about, that they were just being cautious with Thomas. Coach Brian Daboll would only say this spring that Thomas is “doing everything he can do to get better.”

There was a Thomas sighting recently at Yankee Stadium as he threw out a first pitch.

Thomas looked fine moving around and landing on that surgically-repaired left foot. That, though, is not trying to block defensive ends or speedy edge defenders like Micah Parsons.

Having signed James Hudson and drafted Marcus Mbow, the Giants have a better plan for filling in for Thomas should he miss time.

That, though, does not lessen how important both Thomas’s talent and his leadership are to an offensive line that needs both.

Other questions

There are plenty, and we have discussed most of them in-depth throughout the offseason.

Can Evan Neal make a successful transition to guard?

The 2022 No. 7 overall pick failed to establish himself as a viable right tackle in three seasons. If Neal can become a good guard and take over a starting role it would help the Giants in several ways:

• It would salvage something from a top 10 draft pick who thus far has not worked out.
• It would move veteran Greg Van Roten, a decent player but considered by some the weakest link on the Giants’ offensive line, to a backup guard/center role.
• If he plays well and the Giants can re-sign him, Neal would give the Giants a still-young player to help build around in the middle of their line. Neal turns 25 in September.

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Can John Michael Schmitz continue to improve?

The Giants drafted Schmitz in Round 2 of the 2023 NFL Draft hoping he would end a merry-go-round at center that began after Weston Richburg left the team in free agency following the 2017 season.

Schmitz has been the starting center for two seasons, but has yet to prove he will be the long-term anchor in the middle of the line the Giants hoped they were getting.

Schmitz’s play took a significant jump from his rookie to sophomore seasons. It needs to take another one in Year 3.

Will that happen?

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Have the Giants improved their depth?

They have certainly tried, with the signing of Hudson and the drafting of Mbow. Neal earning a starting job and keeping it by playing well would help as Van Roten would be an excellent swing player on the interior of the line. Continued development from second-year player Jake Kubas would also help.