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The 2017 NFL season is here, well almost. Training camps are opening around the league and the New York Giants are no exception, with practice beginning Friday. There have been offseason workouts, but training camp is really the start getting the team ready for the regular season.
Earlier in the week, Chris went over the training camp position battles the Giants will see this month. In that piece, he listed right guard, where John Jerry and D.J. Fluker are competing, as the most important one on offense. That’s definitely correct.
The included video goes a little deeper into why the starter at that position is going to be so important for the offense in 2017. In brief: Only the Oakland Raiders had a higher percentage of their running plays go between the guards than the Giants last season. Starters are already well set at center and left guard for this team, which leaves the right side as the hole needed to be filled. Of the three interior lanes, the Giants struggled most behind the right guard at just 3.4 yards per carry.
If the running game is going to improve in 2017, there’s going to have to be a big step forward on the right side of the line. There’s hope the winner of this position battle can make that happen.