Patrick Omameh

When our draft analyst, Wonder, comments on offseason free agents or college prospects, the most dreaded review you want to hear from him is that the player under consideration is

“just a guy”

This label means he won’t deliver much impact. He also takes up space on your roster.

The opposite is a

“football player”

That’s the guy who makes an impact and sets a standard on the field for performance, execution, and reliability.

We bring these things up because one of Gettleman’s more prominent offseason Free Agent signings was Patrick Omameh from Jacksonville. Omameh’s success (or lack thereof) will be a litmus test, because a lot of skill players’ results will depend on the job of the Offensive Line to support the run game and provide pass protection. With Flowers’ status on the depth chart in flux, all 5 starters at the beginning of last season are effectively gone. This makes the importance of their replacements more meaningful to the 2018 season than otherwise would be the case.

The Giants were efusive in praise of Omameh, but every team sings the praises for any new draft pick and free agent signing. The question is- what do others think who are objective?

Our analyst Wonder offered typical bluntness in his view: “Just a guy, barely.”

Pro Football Focus is not the be-all-end-all final say on any player’s merits. Still, when it comes to linemen who have few measurable “stats,” it is as good a place as any to assess ability.

“Omameh has been a bit of a journeyman to this point in his NFL career, yet he seems to fit well in Jacksonville. Although Omameh remains highly inconsistent, he’s made great strides since entering the league. His greatest improvement has come in pass protection..”

Omameh came into the NFL as a UFA signing by the 49ers in 2013. He generated an unremarkable grade of 54 (poor) with 50 in Run blocking and 59 in Pass blocking this past season. This ranked him as 36th overall at his position. That qualifies him as mediocre. What are the good notes for this player? He is 28 years old, he’s in his prime, and he’s amassed 45 starts plus 3 post season starts this past year. There is not much film on Omameh himself, but watch the AFC championship game with “77” on each side of the ball for a look at the two OLmen signed by the Giants in Free Agency. Both Solder and Omameh did solid jobs during the game. You can see that Omameh lacks the road grader surge that we believe Will Hernandez will bring to the Pro game. The Jaguars did not run behind Omameh as much as they ran to the other side (T Jermey Parnell). That may have been why they grabbed G Andrew Norwell in Free Agency. Both Omameh and Solder protected their QBs better than anything we saw from the Giants OL last season. But that is not a high bar.

As a review of UltimateNYG’s rating system,
1= All Pro
2= Pro Bowl
3= Solid Starter
4= Replaceable Starter
5= Backup
6= Roster/Specials
7= Bust

From what I saw, Omameh is a “4” replaceable starter. He is serviceable in pass protection, and offers little in the run game. Wonder: “mediocrity.”

We asked if Will Hernandez will pass Omameh after he gets a few starts under his belt.. “He’s already better,” said Wonder. That should not surprise, given that Omameh is now on his 5th team in 5 years. He has previously been on SF, TB, CHI, and JAC.

Summary: Omameh is a journeyman Guard who will be unspectacular but nonetheless an improvement over what the Giants offered last season. Our expectation is that he can keep Eli upright and hold his block vs ordinary DTs. When the Giants play against teams with better DTs (i.e. Fletcher Cox), Omameh will need help from the Center.