NY Giants Center John Michael Schmitz Facing a Defining Year Ahead

When the New York Giants drafted center John Michael Schmitz in the second round back in 2023, they envisioned having their offensive lines anchor for the next decade plus.

With good reason.

Schmitz was one of the most highly touted centers in that years draft class, a guy who came with a reputation as being football savvy and something of a technician at the position.

But after two seasons, Schmitz hasnt quite quieted any doubts that might have arisen from his rookie season.

He hasnt been a disaster at the spot, but he also hasnt been upper-echelon at the position either.

Per Pro Football Focus , of the 30 centers who last year played in at least 570 snaps, Schmitz ranked 21st overall, 14th in run blocking and 27th in pass protection.

An argument can also be made that Schmitzs game so far has lacked both physicality and nimbleness.

Regarding his physicality, its fair to wonder if a shoulder issue hes dealt with over the last two years played a part in that.

From a technique perspective, Schmitz has struggled to slide into pass pro and secure run-blocking position due to below-average footwork.

Hes also had trouble staying on his feet, raising questions about play strength.

With all that said, Giants head coach Brian Daboll said that he hasnt lost confidence in the third-year center.

He has grown since weve been here.

He does a good job of setting the table, Daboll said.

There are a lot of things on a centers plate, and steadily, hes improved.

I think hes in a good spot, so I feel comfortable with JMS and confident in him.

Schmitzs toughest challenge Playing in the NFL is hard enough, but when a guy has to go against All-World defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence III every day in practice, as is the case for Schmitz, that magnifies the challenge even further, according to offensive lineman Greg Van Roten, who last year played center for the Giants when Schmitz was sidelined.

Going against Dex, you're gonna have problems in general with powerthats a big man, Van Roten said.

But with Schmitz finally appearing to have rid himself of the nagging injuries that perhaps had a role in compromising some of his game, Van Roten thinks his round teammate will finally start to come into his own.

For JMS, his big thing right now is he's healthy, and he is getting a lot of reps, and he has been in the system going on three years now.

So that's very important, Van Roten said.

And you can't understate enough how valuable it is for him to be in there getting these reps against one of the best nose tackles in the NFL in a long time.

It's telling that the coaches not only handed the starting job to Schmitz as a rookie but also havent challenged him with any true competition.

Schmitz, who played his college ball at the University of Minnesota, will be eligible for a contract extension after this season, but to earn that, hes certainly going to have to show more power and strength in his game and a lot more physicality than what hes put on tape so far.

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