In the first few days of free agency, the New York Giants made a bold move to sign Brandon Marshall to bolster their offense. Their next order of business was to fix the offensive line. The Giants made a big and bold move to do so. They signed D.J. Fluker
With a lot of the high-priced players going off the market such as Andrew Whitworth, Matt Kalil, and Riley Reiff, it has left the Giants looking for alternative options and reports have indicated that they are interested in Los Angeles Chargers offensive lineman D.J. Fluker.
[Doug]
On Saturday night, the Giants came to terms on a one-year deal worth $3 million for Fluker, according to multiple reports. On his Instagram page, D.J. Fluker posted a photo of himself signing the contract for the Giants and making the deal official.
The New England Patriots reportedly had an interest in Fluker as well. But the Giants never let him leave New Jersey without a deal signed. The Giants wrapped up the meeting with a signed deal over dinner.
When D.J. Fluker first came into the league back in the 2013 season, he was an offensive tackle but was transitioned from right tackle over to right guard, a spot he’s played for the last two seasons in San Diego. One of the spots the Giants have in need is right guard, a spot that was occupied over the last few years by veteran John Jerry, but the Giants want to make massive changes to the line in order to protect their franchise quarterback in the later stages of his career in Eli Manning and also improve the production of the running game; something that hasn’t been very good in recent time.
Fluker is a massive human being at 6’5″ and 340 pounds and a lineman who can push the pile. Essentially, he should give the Giants exactly what they need. He is someone who was once considered one of the top offensive lineman in the 2013 NFL Draft. He was selected 11th overall and even went eight spots ahead of the Giants current left guard in Justin Pugh. Pugh has developed into a tremendous guard in the NFL. Justin is likely in line for a huge payday when his rookie contract is up.
[Sean2]
While he wasn’t great at playing tackle, he was much better at guard. Given what the Giants had at right guard in 2016 with Jerry and Marshall Newhouse, Fluker would make for a solid addition to a line that needs youth, strength and a mauler on it. He also would bring versatility given the fact that he can also move over to play tackle if needed, although the Giants will probably look to add a tackle either on the open market or through the NFL Draft.
But for the time being, signing D.J. Fluker to their offensive line is a solid start for the Giants in fixing their issues.