When the New York Giants selected Oregon guard Shane Lemieux in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL draft, they felt they were getting a throwback to their championship days. The Giants were famous for finding gritty linemen in the mid-to-late rounds that turned into solid pros.
Lemieux was said to remind Giants’ scouts of Rich Seubert, who played 10 seasons for Giants (2001-10) as an undrafted free agent out of Western Illinois. Seubert played guard and some center and brought a nastiness to the trenches.
NFL Network analyst and former NFL offensive lineman, Brian Baldinger, said Lemieux reminds him of another former Giants guard, Billy Ard.
Ard was a fifth-round pick back in 1981 out of Wake Forest who played eight seasons for the Giants and was a starter on the 1986 Super Bowl XXI championship team.
.@Giants Shane Lemieux makes this #BigBlue offensive line better and a whole lot nastier. Reminds me of the legendary left guard from the Giants…Bill Ard. #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/uOb3KFRoKG
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) August 5, 2022
Ard was a charter member of the group that head coach called “The Suburbanites.” While many pro players were pulling up to practice in flashy, expensive sports cars, the Giants offensive line was traveling in family-style vehicles complete with car seats and coffee cup holders.
Baldinger found Ard on Twitter and sent him this message:
Ard on Twitter?? Modern Miracle They have a fighting chance up front Billy. Might need a little needling from Coach Parcells
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) August 5, 2022
Ard has not responded despite Baldinger and others reaching out to him. That aside, the point here is that Lemieux is reminding a lot of people of the dominant offensive lines of the past, and that — after all of these losing seasons — is a blessing.
