A very tragic moment for the Giants as the doctor just confirmed that this Giants committed player’s hand could be amputated due to the serious injury he incurred in a match against….
IOL Ben Bredeson
6 feet 5 inches tall
315 pounds in weight.
25 years old NFL Experience: Four Years
University: Michigan
Throughout the 2023 season, the offensive line of the New York Giants was a rotating carousel of players. Guard Ben Bredeson took the brunt of this challenge more than any other player on the field.
On August 31, 2021, Bredeson, a fourth-year guard out of Michigan, was dealt to the Giants along with two late-round draft picks in exchange for a fourth-round pick that was transferred to Baltimore. This move sent Bredeson to East Rutherford. After early injuries, the move guaranteed the offensive line additional depth. Bredeson’s introduction into the starting lineup at left guard, where Nick Gates was sidelined by a season-ending leg injury, made it imperative.
Prior to that, Bredeson was selected by the Ravens with the 143rd pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. He spent the majority of his first season as a reserve and on special teams, and he was hardly ever used on the offensive line. Despite playing in ten games for Baltimore, he only saw 48 snaps in total, the most of which were as the inline tight end in jumbo packages.
Bredeson, who played tackle in high school, was moved to the guard position by Michigan, giving him his first experience of the position while playing collegiately at the Big House in Ann Arbor. The 25-year-old was selected to be a Second-team All-American in his senior year and was recognized to multiple All-Big Ten teams in 2017–19, indicating that the relocation did not lower his performance over the course of four seasons.
Bredeson’s first season in New York got off to a fast start, but a hand injury sustained in Week 4 also ended it. He played 281 snaps at left guard in relief of the injured Gates, and he didn’t see many more snaps as an inline tight-end weapon after that. The next season, he was selected as the starting left guard when Shane Lemieux suffered a knee injury during the preseason, although he was only able to play 542 total plays due to the ailment.
Having defeated Joshua Ezeudu at training camp the previous summer, the incumbent would win the position for the second consecutive year. He had no idea that he wouldn’t stay in that position the entire time since the Giants required him to cover three positions in the midst of yet another round of offensive line injuries.
2023 Summary
Because he was asked to play three different roles along the starting offensive line, including two that he had rarely played, Bredeson’s third season with the Giants was the most difficult of his NFL career.
After winning the preseason in training camp, Bredeson started the season at left guard for New York, logging 1,014 snaps overall over 17 games. After taking on that duty for two weeks, he was thrown into the starting center job for Weeks 4 through 7 as a replacement for rookie John Michael Schmitz, who was injured.
The Giants added Justin Pugh off the bench and had some of their starting blockers back by Week 9. Bredeson moved to the right guard position, where he remained for the remainder of the season until playing center against Philadelphia in the season finale, while Pugh moved to left guard.
Bredeson had his struggles keeping the pocket clear for the quarterback no matter where he was playing. He gave up 39 pressures in all, including 33 rushes, according to PFF, which was a career-high amount. Bredeson was also occasionally the target of the opponent sack statistic, as he was accountable for five of the numerous takedowns that sent the Giants to the bottom of the league in that regard.
Despite playing at numerous unfamiliar positions last season, Bredeson was also punished at the highest rate of any player in his 17 games, with six infractions. Having played 641 pass blocking snaps and 373 run defense snaps, he concluded the season with the second-lowest efficiency rating of his career—96.4%.
Why He Should Stay with the Giants
The need for depth and Ben Bredeson’s flexibility, which showed promise in the 2023 season, are the two main factors supporting his continued presence in the Giants’ locker room.
The only guards on the team who are now eligible to become unrestricted free agents are Bredeson and Shane Lemieux, and it’s likely the Giants will let go of Lemieux given his lackluster performance since being selected in the same year as Bredeson. The remaining seven players at the position have either struggled with injuries or aren’t yet able to contribute consistently on gamedays.
Despite having experienced several injuries in his early career, Bredeson proved to be a dependable player for New York this past fall, and as the season came to a close, his blocking abilities got better. The veteran gave up three sacks in his first nine games, but for the remainder of the regular season, he only gave up two, and he only gave up one quarterback hit down the middle.
Although Bredeson’s pass blocking, or his more frequent snaps, can be questionable at times, his versatility, which really came into play in the Giants’ system this past season, is what makes him so valuable. The 25-year-old took up 345 snaps at center and 189 on the other side of the offensive line in addition to playing 479 snaps at right guard, where he intends to return next season.
Playing in the center position, where Bredeson provided perhaps his finest protection, John Michael Schmitz should take his place once more, assuming injuries don’t take their toll. Bredeson is a flexible player that the Giants can use to fill a variety of offensive line positions and at least maintain balance during a game, so that they can rest a bit easier.
Reasons the Giants Should Let Him Go
It’s undeniable that the guard positions have been the focal point of the Giants’ offensive line’s shortcomings for the most of the previous ten years. The team needs to focus its resources on bolstering the offensive line and making sure it has experienced blockers in the first and second lines of defense and beyond.
Bredeson was adequate, but the starting lineup and depth of the Giants’ offensive line need to be better. Bredeson struggled to stay up with the physical opponents they faced. In addition, he participated in the battles against stunts and was just unable to keep up with speed.
Bredeson has been assigned clean throughout his tenure in New York, but the Giants might consider moving on from him due to his inability to maintain contact in run blocking and pass protection.
Resign or Hold on?
Bredeson has tried his hardest to show off his professionalism and adaptability while filling in a variety of roles on the Giants’ offensive line carousel. It is impossible to disregard Bredeson’s role as the glue that has occasionally prevented the front from totally crumbling since he was thrust into circumstances that were foreign to him.
The Giants’ offensive line, which has routinely ranked last in the NFL in the key pass- and run-blocking stats, hasn’t produced the desired results, though. Although Bredeson’s meek heroism hasn’t been able to completely fix the guard issue, they still hope to have their permanent components at the tackle spots.
For their long-term objectives, the Giants would be better off passing on Bredeson and looking for the perfect man to take his position because they lack consistent depth and the flexibility to be adaptable.
