The New York Giants entered the offseason intent on repairing their under-performing offensive line and after surrendering a league-high 85 sacks in 2023, general manager Joe Schoen appears to have done just that.
Despite some injury issues that prevented them from playing together for much of the summer, the additions of Jon Runyan Jr., Jermaine Eluemunor, Greg Van Roten, and Aaron Stinnie have been a stabilizing force.
For the first time in more than a decade, Giants quarterbacks had time to operate in the pocket during training camp and throughout the preseason. It was a sight for sore eyes and something offensive players are appreciative of.
“It’s been really exciting,” wide receiver Darius Slayton told reporters on Monday. “Like you said, those guys have come in and done a great job embracing the task and they’ve played really good ball throughout camp. I think this is probably one of our better, maybe the best camp, since I’ve been here that we had up front, both on pass protection and in the run game. It’s been a blessing to have those guys be here and they’re veteran players and guys that know what they’re doing and have been great additions to our team.”
Slayton’s positive review of the roster rebuilt didn’t end there. He was especially excited by the return of cornerback Adoree’ Jackson, who he said is one of the best teammates he’s ever had.
“Over my six years here, a lot of guys that came in and out of our building, and Adoree’ is definitely one of my favorite teammates I’ve had since I’ve been here. I was obviously really excited when I saw that we had him in, and I was hoping we did sign him, and we ended up signing him. So, I was pretty happy about that,” Slayton said.
“Some veteran knowledge. Some veteran savvy. Just help continue to bring the young guys along that we have in the back end, as well as he’s still a really good football player. Adoree’ is only 28 years old so he certainly hasn’t fallen off the horse at all. He can still play at a high level himself so, I think he’ll help us both mentally and physically.”
Then there is rookie tight end Theo Johnson, who Slayton likened to the ideal tight end creation in Madden.
“He’s like pretty much like if you were to get on Madden and build a tight end, you would build Theo (Johnson),” he said. “He’d be big, he’d be fast, be able to catch and block. He can run. During this preseason he showed he has some wiggle. There’s really not much else you can want out of a tight end that Theo doesn’t have. I think his ceiling is about as high as anybody we have on the team, to be honest.”
Needless to say, Slayton is pretty excited about the 2024 season and feels optimistic about what the Giants should be able to accomplish.
