5 Offensive Linemen the NY Giants Must Consider in 2015 NFL Draft

If the New York Giants are to have any chance of turning things around in 2015, they must address their offensive line, and the sooner in the draft that is able to happen, the better.

It’s not exactly a secret that the Giants offensive line had more than its fair share of troubles last year, especially in run blocking.

Per Football Outsiders, the unit finished 20th out of 32 teams as New York’s running game finished 23rd overall, averaging 100.1 yards per game, per StatMilk.

Believe it or not, most of the pieces of the Giants offensive line are already in place. Will Beatty, who was the Giants' best offensive lineman last year, will return at left tackle.

Geoff Schwartz should be over his season-ending ankle injury and will move to either left guard or right guard—the latter being the better fit given the success he had with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2013, where he was the fourth-best right guard, per Pro Football Focus.

Weston Richburg will move from left guard to center, replacing J.D. Walton, who could be a salary-cap casualty.

Justin Pugh is a wild card in that he can stay either at right tackle or, as both general manager Jerry Reese and head coach Tom Coughlin told WFAN’s Mike Francesa, move to guard, the latter depending on whether the Giants are able to acquire a road-grader at right tackle in the mold of Kareem McKenzie during his prime.

That leaves the Giants with flexibility as to what they do on the offensive line; though in reality, it’s rare for a team with a top-10 pick to draft a guard in the first round.

Still, the Giants can potentially take an approach similar to what the Dallas Cowboys did last year when they drafted college tackle Zack Martin in the first round and moved him inside to guard, a move that worked out well for New York’s NFC East foe.

Let’s look then at five potential draft picks currently listed as college tackles, some of whom might project inside to guard if they were to land with the Giants via the 2015 draft.

Andrus Peat, 6'7", 316 Lbs, Stanford

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

If the Giants are definitely intent on moving Justin Pugh from right tackle inside to guard, a college prospect who projects to tackle at the pro level is Stanford’s Andrus Peat, a mammoth-sized tackle listed at 6’7” and 316 pounds.

Peat, who is NFL Draft Scout’s second-highest offensive tackle prospect, has the wide wingspan most NFL teams seek in their offensive tackles and a solid, muscular base, according to NDS’s Rob Rang, who also writes of Peat:

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Peat has the agility to slip wide to his left, sealing off speed rushers trying to turn the corner, as well the strength to latch and control defenders. Peat is patient, allowing the defender to come to him, showing good lateral agility and balance to mirror.

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Lance Zierlein of NFL.com opines that Peat possesses “a right tackle's play strength and demeanor” plus the foot speed to move to left tackle if need be—a plus for the Giants, whose current backup option to starting left tackle Will Beatty includes Pugh, who was a college left tackle at Syracuse.

Zierlein continued his praise of Peat, calling him “one of the most game-ready offensive linemen in this year's draft.”

With that all said, Peat isn’t the perfect prospect. Like most rookies, his technique needs some refinement. However, he appears to have the foundation in place to become an effective NFL right tackle. 

Brandon Scherff, 6'5", 320 Lbs, Iowa

Iowa’s Brandon Scherff is widely regarded as the top offensive tackle prospect in the draft, both according to NFL Draft Scout and NFL.com.

That’s not a bad ranking to hold before the combine considering there has been debate over whether Scherff’s best position in the NFL is guard or tackle.

NFL analyst Mike Mayock, citing his league sources, noted that Scherff’s path to the pros will probably go the way of 2014 draft picks Zack Martin (first round) and Joel Bitonio (second round), both college tackles who transitioned inside to guard. 

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com shares Mayock’s opinion that Scherff, who played guard as a junior, is probably best suited for guard in the pros, noting that he “has holes in his pass protection that will be exposed on the next level—especially at tackle.” 

La'el Collins, 6'5", 321 Lbs, LSU

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

LSU’s La’el Collins is another college tackle prospect whom some scouts, such as NFL Draft Scout’s Rob Rang, believe projects to guard at the next level due to what Rang describes as “a square-ish build.”

Rang praised Collins for his solid drive-blocking ability in the running game, a characteristic the Giants haven’t really had from their offensive linemen since the days of Chris Snee in his prime. Rang also noted that Collins is athletic enough to quickly get to the second level and adjust to moving targets.

As a pass-blocker, Rang notes that Collins has a wide enough wingspan to swallow up his man. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com labels Collins as more of a lunger who can easily lose his balance in run blocking and fail to get proper hand placement in pass protection to redirect. 

However, Zierlein and Rang both concur that Collins’ best position is inside at guard, though Zierlein also believes that Collins, a college left tackle, could make the switch to right tackle. 

While NDS projects Collins as a first-round pick, where NFL personnel folks believe his best position is guard, chances are he’ll fall to late in the first round or early in the second round, where quality offensive linemen should still be available in abundance.

Collins does not appear to be a top-10 pick, so if the Giants have designs on him, the soonest they would look to get him would be in Round 2. 

Ereck Flowers, 6'6", 324 Lbs, Miami

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

Ereck Flowers, who has experience playing both left tackle and right tackle for the Miami Hurricanes, is another intriguing, albeit a work in progress, prospect, according to Rob Rang and Dane Brugler of NFL Draft Scout, who write that Flowers’ negatives are visible on tape, especially in pass protection:

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Can struggle against the speed of undersized pass rushers, allowing defensive ends to cross him inside and trip up running backs in pursuit. Tendency to be a beat late off the snap in [loud] road environments.

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Flowers is probably not a top-10 draft pick, according to ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay, who projects Flowers to go 25th (to the Arizona Cardinals) in his mock draft.

Speaking of McShay, who was on a conference call with reporters a few weeks ago, he noted that there aren’t currently many offensive linemen who jump out as top prospects. 

"I think there will be plenty of offensive linemen to get as long as you're not picking somewhere in that top 10, top 15 and feel like you're maybe reaching for one," McShay said, via Nick Powell of NJ Advance Media.

This is worth mentioning only because the Giants historically have drafted more for value, using need as a tiebreaker.

If they have an offensive tackle rated high on their draft board who isn’t there when they pick at No. 9, the Giants could wait until the second round to take an offensive lineman and instead use their first-round pick on a safety, such as Alabama’s Landon Collins.

Getting back to Flowers, Rob Rang and Dane Brugler of NFL Draft Scout wrote that Flowers is athletic enough to get to the second level as a run-blocker but has his share of hiccups as a pass-blocker, especially against speed-rushers.

The knock against Flowers’ pass blocking is shared by Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, who notes that Flowers needs “plenty of work” in that area.

Zierlein also notes that Flowers is a mauler in the running game who has a good first step and explodes into his man at the point of attack and that he “has feet to become solid zone-blocker.”

One other point made by Zierlein in his scouting report is that Flowers “gets surly when beaten on a snap.”

While a high level of competitiveness is good to have from an offensive lineman, he must also control it lest he start drawing discipline-related penalties that cost his team 15 yards.   

Rob Havenstein, 6'8", 333 Lbs, Wisconsin

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

A two-year starter at right tackle, Havenstein is a big man with the build and demeanor to be successful as an NFL tackle. However, Dane Brugler of NFL Draft Scout, who projects Havenstein as a fourth-round pick, notes that the young man possesses “ordinary athleticism” and lacks “elite lateral quickness.” 

The positives? Besides his impressive size and thick frame, he has the strength and the mentality to will himself to succeed at the position.  

Lance Zierlein of NFL.com admits that Havenstein doesn’t necessarily look the part of an NFL right tackle, but once he is on the field, it’s a different story.

Havenstein has quick feet and balance, and Zierlein believes he can be a starting right tackle in the NFL; however, Zierlein notes that Havenstein doesn’t always bend at the knees and hence plays too tall, which causes him to lose leverage.

If NDS is correct in its draft-round projection for Havenstein, he probably isn’t the answer for the Giants if they are looking for a Day 1 starter. 

However, if the Giants somehow acquire a veteran offensive lineman who can play guard, that would allow them to develop a Day 3 pick with an eye toward moving him to the starting lineup the following year.

Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced. Follow me on Twitter @Patricia_Traina.