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Giants face race to build offensive line chemistry ahead of Week 1
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- Giants face race to build offensive line chemistry ahead of Week 1
Rookie offensive lineman Francis Mauigoacould be a key to the Giants ' success this season. The 10th overall selection steps into the starting lineup at right guard, and Big Blue need him to perform well. If he proves to be a weak link as he takes time to get comfortable, that could hurt their chances to remain competitive early in the season.
Unfortunately, New York's training camp plans to assimilate Mauigoa into the starting group didn't quite go to plan, leaving the Giants in a situation where their starting five hasn't had enough chances to work together as they prepare to start their season. When they face the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football less than two weeks from now, Mauigoa could still be finding his feet to an extent.
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Getting some live reps would have been where preseason would have been most useful for Mauigoa. However, he missed the second preseason game – historically the one where the starters tend to get the most reps – due to a shoulder injury suffered earlier that week.
That probably factored into New York's decision to start Friday's preseason game against the Jets with all three interior linemen in the starting line-up. Fortunately, Mauigoa had recovered sufficiently from the shoulder injury to be able to suit up alongside center John Michael Schmitz , with Jon Runyan at left guard.
The trio only played 13 snaps together, but it was clearly important for them to get these reps, as every other offensive starter apart from Darius Slayton was rested. It was far from ideal preparation, as they faced a Jets lineup that also only included a couple of starters. The Giants had two possessions that each ended in a turnover, although they moved the ball well on the latter drive, which ended on a Braxton Berrios fumble near the goal line.
Mauigoa's night ended on a positive note, as he stayed out there for four more snaps with the backups and will have gained some confidence with an excellent reach block to spring Tyrone Tracyfor a 16-yard gain and a driving second-level block to help Tracy get into the end zone for Big Blue's first points of the night. However, these reps against the Jets' third-stringers are no substitute for being able to line up alongside the players he'll be starting alongside in the opener.
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In the opener, Mauigoa was in the game for 30 snaps, including 16 alongside right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor . However, Schmitz missed that game through injury, so he has not been able to see live reps with both the players who will line up either side of him.
In that regard, the joint practices against Miami a few weeks ago would have been extremely important as all five starters were in action. However, Mauigoa's participation in the second of the two practices was cut short by the injury that would cause him to miss the second preseason game. The earlier session was also disrupted and marred by several on-field scuffles.
It becomes even more important to help Mauigoa become comfortable with his role on the Giants, because he's not just learning how to play within an NFL system. Mauigoa is also playing guard for the first time, having been a tackle in high school and college. He won't have matched up with many players in college who are as big and strong as Quinnen Williams , who will be lined up across from him in his regular-season debut. In addition, the process of working in tandem with his linemates on combo blocks, or picking up stunts and games, is a different challenge when lined up on the inside.
Something working in the Giants' favor is that they have the foundation of a stable offensive line unit with four of the five starters together for a third straight season. Those four players will have already developed some chemistry, so Mauigoa just needs to fit within what they do, rather than the whole group being a work in progress.
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However, those four haven't played as much together as the Giants would have liked either. They've only all been in the starting lineup nine times together since week six of the 2024 season, missing a combined 29 starts during that time, including 15 by left tackle Andrew Thomas . They didn't play together in preseason either, as Thomas didn't play at all and Schmitz and Eluemunor played just 40 snaps between them.
During the past two seasons, the offensive line buckled under the weight of all the enforced changes due to injury, but whenever Thomas was healthy, he provided a steadying presence. He'll be healthy to start the season, which should mean the starting group plays together well as a unit. While it might be a challenge for him to hit the ground running at a new position, these would represent the best possible conditions under which Mauigoa's hopefully long career can get off to a positive start.
