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The New York Giants just drafted a superstar center.
So says 10-year NFL veteran Alex Boone, who trained center John Michael Schmitz before Big Blue selected him with the No. 57 pick in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft.
Boone runs Training Haus, a Minnesota-based gym where he says Schmitz “immediately” flashed his star potential.
“His attitude, the way he approached the field, the film – everything about him I was like, dude, we have to get this kid,” Boone said on Giants.com’s Big Blue Kickoff Live. “He’s incredible. “(Every) step of the way he has been phenomenal.”
Boone said Schmitz landed in the “perfect scenario” with the Giants. And the Giants see Schmitz as a scheme fit — and much more.
Schmitz is a smart, tough, and dependable player, three traits Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen value above all as they rebuild Big Blue’s program.
Boone believes his pupil can be “one of the best” centers to blend all those traits. Judging by the draft night call Schoen and Daboll had with Schmitz, they clearly agree.
Here’s what else you need to know about Schmitz and his fit with the Giants:
How James Harden Explains John Michael Schmitz’s Giants Fit
Why is Schmitz such a great fit in New York?
“James Harden” can explain it.
The term — not the 76ers superstar of the NBA — is an audible that describes a specific protection in offenses like Daboll’s. And Schmitz has already mastered that vocabulary, according to his agent and former NFL lineman Jeremiah Sirles.
“You have to understand — if I’m on the right hash(mark of the field) and I hear ‘James Harden,’ I know it’s in a left formation,” Sirles said on the Bleav Network’s Talkin’ Ball Podcast with Pat Leonard. “I know we’re in empty protection. And I know it’s this route concept. All that is happening very quickly because Daboll wants to get the ball snapped. So having a center that can understand, digest, and regurgitate (information is important).”
Sirles would know the offense Schmitz is entering better than most.
In 2018, played 12 games under then-Bills offensive coordinator Daboll. The following spring, he played center for Daboll and current Giants offensive line coach Bobby Johnson.
Sirles said Schmitz aced his pre-draft interviews with both coaches, according to Leonard.
“Bobby told me the next day (after the interview), ‘I eventually had to throw tackle calls at him to try to get him to miss something,’” Sirles told Leonard and the New York Daily News. “Bobby basically installed how they do all their protections, and its stuff that John Michael and I had been installing for two months.”
In short: Schmitz is prepared both physically and mentally for the Giants starting center job.
“I think that’s where Bobby and Daboll are going, ‘If we take a guy (at center)… he has to be able to start for us right away, not just physically but mentally,” Sirles said. “That’s where I can see JMS having a little bit of that perfect transition and fit where he’s not behind the eight ball already.”
Giants’ John Michael Schmitz Pick Earns Experts’ Praise
Boone and Schmitz aren’t alone in praising New York’s second-round selection.
NFL Network analyst Bucky Brooks listed Schmitz as one of his 10 favorite player-team fits from the 2023 NFL draft, saying the center “has a chance to make his impact as a tone-setter at the point of attack, thanks to his combination of athleticism and nastiness.”
ESPN’s Matt Bowen believes Schmitz is the perfect center for New York’s offense, too.
“In addition to Schmitz’s finishing ability as a blocker, which showed up consistently during Senior Bowl workouts, it’s the zone-run fit in Brian Daboll’s offense that sticks out,” Bowen wrote. “This is where the 6-4, 320-pound rookie center can reach, combo, climb and cut off second-level defenders. He’s an instinctive and detailed technician here, and that opens up more running room for Saquon Barkley to get vertical on inside and outside zone schemes.”
Schmitz surrendered no sacks and just five hurries on 317 pass blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. And according to PFF’s Trevor Sikkema, he’ll fit right in immediately on New York’s line.
“As a four-year starter for Minnesota, Michael-Schmitz shouldn’t look lost in the early parts of his NFL career,” Sikkema wrote. “In fact, he’s in a great environment to start at center on the Giants’ interior offensive line. Michael Schmitz, at 6-foot-3 ½ and 300 pounds, is one of the bigger and stronger centers in the class, which will gel well with the guys already entrenched on the Giants offensive line.”
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