shane lemeiux

New York Giants: Could Shane Lemieux Start At Center In 2020?

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The New York Giants have a positional battle brewing at the center position. Center was one of the weakest positions on the team’s roster last season. Jon Halapio struggled the majority of the season before going down with a gruesome injury. The team seems to be moving on from Halapio, but it is still unclear what direction the Giants are heading.

There are a few players on the Giants’ roster that could compete for the starting center position. Spencer Pulley, Nick Gates, and Shane Lemieux are all viable options. Spencer Pulley has played center in the NFL for four years now. Nick Gates showed a lot of promise in some limited action at guard and tackle last season, but could make the transition to center. And Shane Lemieux, the Giants’ fifth-round pick out of Oregon, played guard in college but is also training to transition to center.

But could Shane Lemieux actually start at center as a rookie in 2020? He would have to beat out an experienced center in Pulley and an experienced, versatile OL in Nick Gates. It does not sound too likely, but Lemieux could win the starting center job as a rookie.

Why Shane Lemieux At Center Makes Sense

Shane Lemieux was voted as a Second-Team All-American as a senior in 2019. New York was lucky to land Shane as late in the draft as they did, as he was considered to be a pretty solid prospect (6.17 grade by Lance Zierlein and NFL.com).

Upon being drafted by the Giants, Lemieux instantly started training to be a center. In the video below, you can see him practicing his snaps:

Shane Lemieux is one strong hog molly. He stands in at 6 feet 4 inches and weighs 310 pounds. He was also efficient in college, posting an 83.9 overall grade according to Pro Football Focus, surrendering only 11 pressures.

Lemieux had a conference call with reporters post-draft in which he discussed the possibility of playing the center position:

“I think I’m an offensive lineman,’’ Lemieux said when asked what position he plays (via the NY Post).

“I feel like with center there’s a lot more responsibility on you to know the offense and to know more of the defense and to just be more sound with what’s going on around you,’’ Lemieux said. “And obviously you’ve got to snap the ball.’’ – Shane Lemieux via the NY Post

Shane Lemieux has made it clear that he understands how important it is to be versatile. He also explained what it means to be a center. Shane used the keyword “responsibility” when discussing the position. This is an excellent word choice because the center is responsible for knowing and calling pass protection pre-snap, one of the most important jobs on offense.

The New York Giants’ offensive line is deeper than ever before

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New York Giants, Nate Solder, Jon Halapio, Mike Remmers

The priority this off-season for the New York Giants was to finally solve the complicated puzzle that has been the offensive line. Protecting Daniel Jones and opening running lanes for Saquon Barkley is essential for the offense to succeed and play at an elevated level. General manager Dave Gettleman finally invested in the protection of his two most influential draft picks. Ensuring Barkley and Jones have everything they need to succeed should and is the focus for the Giants.

In 2019, Jones endured poor offensive line play which resulted in him being sacked 38 times. Lowering that number and allowing him more time in the pocket is essential for his future production, and taking a step forward in 2020 is the ultimate goal. His statistical output last season was quite good for a rookie who wasn’t expected to play at all with Eli Manning starting week one. Manning was quickly moved to the bench in favor of Jones, who emerged victorious the next two games but failed to string together a winning season.

The 2019 line consisted of:

LT: Nate Solder

LG: Will Hernandez

C: Jon Halapio

RG: Kevin Zeitler

RT: Mike Remmers

This unit ranked as one of the worst in the league, with Solder giving up 11 sacks, ranking second-worst in the category.

Overhauling this section was a requirement this off-season, and the Giants spent the fourth overall pick on Georgia tackle Andrew Thomas. This move subsequently moves Solder over to the right side, where he will compete with Nick Gates and Cam Fleming for the starting position. Paying nearly $20 million for a fringe starter is problematic, but his dead-cap lowers to $6.5 million in 2021, indicating he will likely be let go.

However, adding Thomas alone does not attest to the overhauling of the unit, which is why the New York Giants spent more draft picks to ensure depth at essential positions. In the third round, Big Blue selected Matt Peart out of UConn, who has fantastic tangible skills and the potential to emerge as a starter in the future. In the fifth round, they drafted Oregon guard Shane Lemieux, who has the upside to play center as well. Developing him over the next few months will hopefully see him adapt to different positions and give the Giants another quality guard to work with.

“Versatility is the biggest factor in this game,” Lemieux said, per the NY Post. “Coaches want to be able to put you in multiple spots. I have really good mentors that told me that at training camp, no matter where you are, they are going to throw you in, and you have to be ready. I just want to be prepared before that happened.”

Last season, the Giants only had Nick Gates as their preferred depth piece, but with the added draft capital to the position and signing free agent Cam Fleming, they have plenty of players to work with and move around in case of injury. Hopefully, this will allow them to solidify the offensive front and protect Daniel Jones adequately.