The Giants landed their starting center for the present and, if all goes according to plan, the foreseeable future.
They sat tight in the second round of the NFL Draft Friday night and selected John Michael Schmitz out of Minnesota with the 57th overall pick.
Clearly, the Giants considered this a position of need, having lost last year’s starting center, Jon Feliciano, to the 49ers, and the backup center, Nick Gates, to the Commanders.
There were plenty of wide receivers on the board for the Giants, including Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman of Tennessee and Josh Downs of North Carolina.
They opted to forgo adding a pass-catching weapon for Daniel Jones, preferring to find more protection for the quarterback.
Schmitz was a four-year starter for the Golden Gophers and, in the eyes of many scouts, the top center in this draft.
He was not the first center to go, though, as the Jets took Joe Tippmann from Wisconsin at No. 43 overall.
Minnesota offensive lineman John Michael Schmitz Jr. runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine. APThere is not much Schmitz failed to accomplish in college.
He was a three-time All Big Ten player, considered to be an outstanding run blocker who needs some work in his one-on-one pass blocking.
He made all the line calls at Minnesota and the mental aspect of playing offensive line will not be a new deal for
In the weeks leading up to the draft, general manager Joe Schoen said he believed there were solid options on the roster to move in at center.
Schmitz could be the long-term answer in front of Daniel Jones. APHe mentioned Ben Bredeson, Shane Lewmieux, Jack Anderson and J.C. Hassenauer, a 27-year old who went undrafted out of Alabama and has seven career starts for the Steelers — five at center.
By taking Schmitz this high in the draft, Schoen’s actions belied his words, as far as the available talent available to him at center.
Jones has not had the luxury of stability with the teammate responsible for snapping the ball to him.
In four seasons, he has worked with Jon Halapio, Spencer Pulley, Billy Price and Feliciano as starting centers.
“I think it just takes a lot of time,’’ Jones said of adjusting to a new center. “It takes time in the film room, in classroom talking, getting on the same page with our pre-snap IDs and protections and in the run game, too. Then time on the field in more game-like situations where you’re actually going through it and you’re communicating and working on the center, quarterback exchange and all those pieces there. It just takes time.’’
Jones will now take the time to break in yet another center in Schmitz.
