5 burning questions the New York Giants need to answer in 2018
By Daniel Stave
2. Have the Giants really fixed their offensive line?
The offseason narrative has been that the Giants will have a much-improved offensive line for the 2018 season. They signed left tackle Nate Solder from New England for four years and $62 million. They drafted guard Will Hernandez out of UTEP with the No. 34 pick. The left side of their line looks set, which is more than they can say about previous years.
Unfortunately, there are still question marks about the other three spots. Ereck Flowers was a first-round bust from 2015 that the team tried to trade over the offseason. They weren’t able to, and now he is penciled in as the starter at right tackle.
Right guard John Jerry wasn’t the biggest problem the last few years, but he was part of the problem. He’s still projected to be a starter.
Brett Jones was one of the worst centers in football last season. He was projected to be the starter again, but his job has already fallen into a competition.
The team could have felt better about their line had they made an effort to re-sign their two best offensive linemen from the last few seasons.
Weston Richburg was a starter for all four of his seasons with the Giants but missed the last 12 games of the 2017 campaign with a concussion. He was signed by the San Francisco 49ers.
Justin Pugh is another Giants-bred player the team could use in 2018. Instead, Pugh signed with Arizona in free agency. He struggled in 2017 before missing the second half of the season with a back injury. But Pugh was an above average starter at tackle and guard for four seasons after being drafted by the Giants in the first round in 2013.