Center of attention: Giants eyeing interior offensive line after Jon Feliciano and Nick Gates depart

Starting center Jon Feliciano signed a one-year free agent deal with the San Francisco 49 ers this week, following starting left guard Nick Gates out the door. Two centers the Giants have shown interest in, per sources, are Minnesota’ s John Michael Schmitz and Ohio State’ s Luke Wypler. He grew up in Bergen County, N.J., and played at St. Joseph Regional in Montvale.

The Giants’ starting left guard and center from last season’s playoff run are both gone.

Starting center Jon Feliciano signed a one-year free agent deal with the San Francisco 49ers this week, following starting left guard Nick Gates (Washington Commanders) out the door.

So GM Joe Schoen must prioritize the interior offensive line in April’s NFL Draft, along with wide receiver, corner and a host of other needs.

Two centers the Giants have shown interest in, per sources, are Minnesota’s John Michael Schmitz and Ohio State’s Luke Wypler. Florida guard O’Cyrus Torrence also is viewed as a potential great fit.

The 6-3, 301-pound Schmitz and 6-5, 330-pound Torrence are both projected first-round picks. The 6-3, 303-pound Wypler is a projected second- or third-rounder. Wypler is a local product, too. He grew up in Bergen County, N.J., and played at St. Joseph Regional in Montvale.

Center has been a bit of a revolving door for the Giants, and really they just lost two centers, since Gates’ plan is to man the middle again for the Commanders. So it would be nice to lock up a reliable and rising player on a rookie contract.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ second-round selection of Oklahoma’s Creed Humphrey 63rd overall in 2021 is the recent gold standard. That contributed to a quick O-line rebuild before a 2022 Super Bowl run.

Not that the Giants are a center away. But Daboll needs a trustworthy and agile pivot to execute his scheme. And center is also a leadership position.

Losing Feliciano, 31, cost the Giants a leader and tone-setter on offense. He was the most accountable Giants player to speak for the team after losses, not to mention he ranked 10th among NFL centers in pass block win rate (95%) last season.

Both sides initially sounded like they wanted to keep Feliciano in blue this spring, especially considering his longstanding relationships with O-line coach Bobby Johnson, Schoen and Daboll going back to Buffalo.

But the Giants opted to spend their money elsewhere.

“We had Feliciano in Buffalo with us, and it’s not just on the field with some of these guys; it’s the leadership in the locker room and within their position group that you really gotta make sure you don’t let a lot of leadership walk out of the building,” Schoen said at the NFL Combine. “And that’s gonna be a concerted effort for some of these guys. Maybe they’re backups, starters, you wanna definitely be able to retain some of our leadership.”

At guard, the Giants would like 2022 third-round pick Josh Ezeudu to continue developing and become a reliable starter. But he is coming off shoulder surgery and still needs to improve.

Veteran guard Ben Bredeson was effective last season when healthy. Jack Anderson has chipped in capably. Shane Lemieux is hoping to get healthy. And Wyatt Davis is a young developing player.

Still, the Giants need to think about both the present and the future. They consider Andrew Thomas and Evan Neal long-term bookend tackles, and they return veteran right guard Mark Glowinski after last year’s free agent signing.

For Daniel Jones to raise his game, he needs a sturdy front five. Schoen and the Giants are well aware as the draft approaches.

FILLING OUT THE ROSTER

The Giants spent the second week of free agency on some value starter signings and bargain depth finds. The club re-signed wide receiver Darius Slayton, 26, to a two-year contract. And they added former Miami/Washington safety Bobby McCain, 29, and former Washington/Jets/Bills slot receiver Jamison Crowder, 29, on one-year deals.

They also signed former Duke CB Leonard Johnson, who hasn’t played in the NFL yet, coming off a 2022 torn ACL; former Detroit Lions CB Amani Oruwariye, 27; and former Buffalo Bills TE Tommy Sweeney, 27, of Ramsey, N.J., and Don Bosco Prep.

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