The New York Giants finished their preseason with an undefeated 3-0 record on Thursday after defeating the New England Patriots, 42-10. It was an impressive preseason, one that saw the franchise make history and set the tone for the 2025 season.

Part of the Giants’ successful preseason is thanks to the offensive line’s ability to protect the quarterback. The entire line is returning from last season, creating cohesion among the players.

Advertisement

On Monday, offensive lineman Jon Runyan spoke with the media after practice, and he was asked how he felt the offensive line did during the summer.

“I think we really started to develop the identity and brand that we wanted to put on display,” Runyan said. “We’re building from last year, with returning basically all the guys that we had from last year, continuing to get comfortable and develop that culture we have as an offensive line going forward.

“I feel like I really like where we’re at all across the board with our veteran leadership, our young guys, and our coaching staff are all really pulling in the right direction. I feel like we had a good training camp, good preseason, but it doesn’t really mean a thing until week one against Washington. We’re all super excited to get going and prove who we are.”

The identity the offensive line wants to develop is that they are “smart, tough, dependable.”

Advertisement

“We really want to be the heartbeat of this team and this offensive unit,” Runyan said.

Runyan also emphasized the importance of Andrew Thomas, but felt that there was no need to rush him back, as he feels comfortable with the current offensive line, and that Evan Neal is making good progress transitioning to guard. As someone who has transitioned from guard to tackle, he understands how difficult it is to make a position change along the line.

“It’s a big transition. Every position on the offensive line, center to guard and guard to tackle, they’re all completely different positions,” he said. “I know from the outside, they kind of all look super similar, but a lot of players have gone through it. I went through it when I was coming into the league. Went from guard to tackle. It’s a different world. He’s been doing a great job.”

Neal has to step up and prove he’s worth keeping around in 2026. He’s entering the final season of his rookie contract, and his performance over the last three seasons has not lived up to the expectations of a first-round draft pick.

Advertisement

The Giants open their season on the road on September 7, heading down the coast to face the Washington Commanders. After that game, we’ll have a pretty good idea of just how good this offensive line is going to be in 2025.

This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Giants’ Jon Runyan: OL wants to be ‘the heartbeat of this team’