Evaluating what offensive tackle Matt Peart will be able to bring to the table as one of the newest members of the New York Giants.
“Hog mollies” galore for Dave Gettleman’s New York Giants in this year’s draft. After selecting Georgia offensive tackle Andrew Thomas in the first round, Big Blue decided to take another tackle in UConn’s Matt Peart in the third. Peart earned first-team All-AAC honors this past year.
While Thomas may start immediately, Peart will need to develop and could end up becoming a starter at some point in the future. Could Peart and Thomas be the Giants’ pair of exterior offensive linemen for the long term?
Time will only tell. But for right now, let’s take a look at some of Peart’s college film and find out what he can bring to this franchise.
Film room notes
In Uconn’s 2019 loss to Central Florida, Peart (right tackle, No. 65) put a number of his talents on display — strengths that Gettleman and the Giants clearly noticed.
Peart utilizes great footwork and lateral agility, and is strong enough to hold his blocks while doing so. As you can see below, he portrays these talents on the first play of the game.
https://youtu.be/optNFvTpOfE
The 6-foot-7 monster also has great vision and is able to find the correct assignment. And once he does, he’s able to use his body to seal them off, as shown in the below play.
https://youtu.be/optNFvTpOfE?t=47
Along with his ability to hold his blocks, Peart additionally drives his feet, employs good hand placement, and finishes, something Joe Judge, Jason Garrett, and Marc Colombo will adore.
https://youtu.be/optNFvTpOfE?t=85
Peart is also athletic enough to inherit pulling responsibilities. On this play shown below, he helped spring what was a 14-yard inside zone run for the Huskies.
https://youtu.be/optNFvTpOfE?t=169
He’s always quick off the snap, which will be nothing but beneficial to him in the pros. Of course, he’ll need to develop and could struggle in the beginning, but utilizing a quick step will be an advantage for him more times than not.
On passing downs, Peart’s lateral agility is at its best, which proves the type of athlete he is even at 318 pounds.
https://youtu.be/optNFvTpOfE?t=238
https://youtu.be/optNFvTpOfE?t=260
Another aspect of Peart’s game that should unleash excitement in Giants fans is his ability to read stunts. On the two plays below, Peart makes contact with the defensive end in order to slow down their inside pursuit and then is athletic enough to reset himself and pick up the stunting defensive tackle.
https://youtu.be/optNFvTpOfE?t=376
https://youtu.be/optNFvTpOfE?t=435
And check out the quickness to get out to the flat to lead block on this swing pass to the running back.
https://youtu.be/optNFvTpOfE?t=500
The following clips are from UConn’s 2019 loss to Southern Florida, with these first two showing off Peart’s noteworthy pass-blocking abilities.
Peart is like Thomas in a sense that he doesn’t catch his blocks either. He meets his opponent, not the other way around, which is portrayed in this clip.
He then, once again, proves he can read stunts and adjust accordingly mid-play.
And on this final play, let’s take a look at Peart pulling to the right and becoming one of the lead blockers on this three-yard touchdown run for the Huskies. Great play, regardless of the score.
Conclusion
Peart portrays a number of great qualities that give him the potential to succeed in this league, and just looking at the film, it’s clear why the Giants were so high on him. Nonetheless, he’ll certainly need to be developed before he can be thrown into a starting role.
He’s not in the same situation as Thomas, who may immediately start at right tackle and eventually transition over to Daniel Jones‘ blindside. But if Peart is able to develop effectively and in a timely manner, who knows what the future may hold? Maybe he ends up becoming the starting right tackle while Thomas is on the left side?
Regardless of what occurs, it’s a given that Gettleman wants to revamp the offensive line. Looks like Peart will be a part of that process.
