Joe Schoen was determined to beef up in the trenches during his first draft as the New York Giants’ general manager and scored big with Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal and Oregon edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux in the first round.
Those were two much-needed additions as the Giants were the only team to rank in the bottom five in both pass block win rate and pass rush win rate last season.
As per ESPN Stats and Info, the Giants’ ranked 30th out of 32 teams in pass rush win rate at 34 percent. By contrast, the league leaders — the Los Angeles Rams — had a win rate of 53 percent.
Thibodeaux, combined with second-year outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari, in new defensive coordinator Wink Martindale’s pressure packages should help the Giants improve in this crucial area.
On the other side of the ball, the Giants were 28th in pass block win rate at 54 percent. The Rams led the league in this category, too (68 percent).
T Evan Neal (7th overall), G Joshua Ezeudu (67th), and G Marcus McKethan (173rd).
This is the 2nd time in the last 3 drafts the Giants have taken 3 OL (3 in 2020). From 1990-2019, NYG didn't do that once.
The Giants are 29th in pass block win rate over the last 2 seasons. pic.twitter.com/9998EE0T6k
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 30, 2022
The Giants will have an interesting summer trying to sort out their roster after Schoen prioritized the trenches this offseason. It will be a welcome change after getting pushed around and bulldozed the past several years.
