Fixing the Giants OL Part 2: The Goal

Okay, yesterday we talked about how the Giants arrived at the point where they need to rebuild the OL and how the possibility of a seamless transition was bumbled away through draft decisions and free agents mistakes.    Now here we are.

Going into 2014, the Giants have one healthy projected starter and that's Justin Pugh, and - no kidding - he just had thumb surgery.   But he should be good to go and solve one of five spots for the Giants.

But what about the other 4 spots?

This is where there's really nothing more than uncertainty.   Will Beatty, had a bad season then broke his leg and may or may not be able to recover and recalibrate his career trajectory.   At left guard Kevin Boothe is a free agent.  At center, David Baas is always hurt.  And at right guard, Chris Snee is coming off a lost season where he had hip and elbow surgeries.

So Pugh really is the only guy who we'd want to build around at this point.   And that's fine, because he is a pure Mel Hein type and exactly the kind of OL we've won all of our titles with.  So people should feel really good about Justin Pugh.   All he needs in time in an NFL weight room and teammates.

Onto those.

I think the Giants will want to hit OL 2 or three times in FA.  No kidding.  But I don't think they should break the bank on any FA unless Alex Mack doesn't get franchised and decides he wants to be a Giant.   Beyond that, I'd like to see them get three guys with some tread left on their tires who can come in and start for a year or so, while the real work goes on in the draft.

http://www.kffl.com/static/nfl/features/freeagents/fa.php?option=OL&y=2014

Above is the KFFL list of FA's and potential FA's this year, though it doesn't include cap cuts and there are always plenty of those, in fact the Giants could be releasing Baas and Snee.

Alex Mack really looks like the only guy who can settle a position for 5 or 6 years and play like a classic Giant OL.   Everyone else looks like a bandaid of one sort or another and that's fine because bandaids shouldn't break the bank.

They just have to be better than Kevin Boothe and James Brewer and whoever else we were trotting out there last year.  Boothe actually looked better at C to me.  And they should think about bringing him back there if the money makes sense and they don't have to start him.

But what they really need to have when they come out of FA is (barring a Mack deal) a starting 5 that can be counted on to be better than last year's starting 5.   That sounds daunting, but they should be able to get it done in free agency.

All I'd be looking for in FA is a two year fix, with some veteran leaders and mentors because in the next two drafts the Giants have to go "Snee Hunting."

You'll recall that Chris Snee was picked at the top of the second round in 2004 and went on to be one of the greatest Giant linemen ever.   He's had an early decline and may not be able to come back, but what the Giants need to do in the next two draft periods is to find 4 more guys like Snee, and that means using premium picks on OL's.  If healed, Snee could be a bandaid this year, but he'll have to take a massive pay cut to stay.

This year, there are a few OL's who fit the Giant mold that should be available in round one.  Ideally, the Giants would only use the #12 pick on a playmaker, but failing that, hopefully they'd be able to trade down a little for an additional 2 or a high three, and pick either Zach Martin of Notre Dame or David Yankey of Stanford. That would be fantastic. Then they could use their first second on a playmaker and their extra pick on another OL.

The scouts also have to forget about projects on the OL like Whimper and Brewer, and even Beatty  were, and get players.   It's mind boggling that they haven't found another Rich Seubert among the undrafteds since Rich Seubert.   They've found Cruz and some workable TE's and LB's, but no more big time OL's. I think it is a result of the internet creating better coverage of all the draft eligible players. and the better players not thinking they could make the Giants roster. But as much as our scouts haven't found another Seubert, they also haven't found another 5th round David Diehl. In fact, other than Pugh, who was a first rounder, they haven't made a great pick on an OL since Snee.

That's why they have to use premium picks to fix this, their returns on third day guys have declined sort of severely. So they can't reliably put fixing the OL off until day three of the draft.

The job would become a lot easier if they believed Beatty can come back and be good.  Or if they knew they could get something out of Mosley or Brewer.   But as it stands they'll need 3 or 4 bandaids this year, and 4 premium picks (unless they get lucky with a Diehl or Seubert on day three or UDFA) over the next two years to get this thing fixed.

Mack would knock those numbers down to 2 bandaids this year and 3 premium picks over the next two drafts, but he's a pipe dream at this point.

So there it is.  How do you fix the OL?  You throw money and premium picks at it for two years and pray for luck.