By Adeniyi Precious 
Russell Wilson is the Giants’ starting quarterback—at least for now. But that raises a big question: Can the offensive line actually protect him?
Giants GM Joe Schoen, who’s feeling the heat in his fourth season, will face the media at the NFL Annual Meeting. He’ll get plenty of quarterback-related questions, but the O-line might be the biggest issue.
Sure, the Giants could draft Shedeur Sanders at No. 3 if he’s available. But no matter what, Wilson is likely the starter in 2025. And last year, the Giants’ pass protection was rough—they ranked 28th in Pro Football Focus’ (PFF) pass-blocking grades. Wilson’s Steelers? Not much better at 24th.
A big part of the problem was injuries—star left tackle Andrew Thomas missed 11 games. But the interior O-line just wasn’t good enough. Right guard Greg Van Roten (64.9 PFF grade), left guard Jon Runyan (62.6), and center John Michael Schmitz (50.2) all struggled in pass protection.
Meanwhile, Wilson was under pressure on 37.6% of his dropbacks last year, the seventh-highest rate in the NFL—just slightly worse than Daniel Jones’ 37.3% with the Giants. And while Jones played terribly under pressure (37.8 PFF passing grade), Wilson wasn’t much better (50.9). At 37 years old this season, he’s not getting any faster or more durable.
Schoen is mostly sticking with the same O-line in 2025, hoping Thomas stays healthy. The biggest question mark is at right guard—Van Roten is back, but at 35, he’s not a long-term solution. Schoen has five picks in the top 105, so he could use one on a guard.
If Schoen wants to keep his job, he better hope this group improves—because if they play like last year, or like Wilson’s old Steelers line, it could be another long season