After an 0-2 start and only scoring 13 points through two games, many are directing the blame for the New York Giants’ early struggles at the offensive line.

In the offseason, instead of spending the limited cap room they had on the glaring offensive line need, the Giants spent their money on wide receiver Brandon Marshall and blocking tight end Rhett Ellison.

It’s hard not to notice how bad the Giants’ offensive line has been, and they clearly need to get better as a unit. But Big Blue may have found a hidden gem this offseason when they signed undrafted free agent Chad Wheeler out of University of Southern California.

In fact, Hall of Famer Jackie Slater see’s a lot of future potential in Wheeler.

“When I go to Art Shell, ‘Big’ Bob Brown, or Ron Mix or Jonathan Ogden, all of these guys are very conscientious, they don’t want to let anybody down, and they want to be successful, And when I saw Chad, it was the same thing I saw when I visited those men in Canton,” Slater told the New York Daily News. “I’m not putting him in the same echelon with those guys. He’s got a long way to go. But you’ve got to have a strong drive to be successful and be dominant to even attempt to do these things. And Chad has that.”

This may sound like a promising praise from a Hall of Fame lineman, but as it is for any undrafted free agent, Wheeler certainly has an uphill battle to become a starter let alone an elite lineman in the NFL.

However, the longer Ereck Flowers continues to struggle, the more likely Wheeler is to receive a starting shot. And he was lucky enough to get some hands on training with Slater this offseason.

“I pretty much had to solve every problem as an offensive tackle in my career and saw everything you could see,” Slater said. “And as I began to share these things with Chad, he took notes, wrote it down, presented it to me, spit it back at me verbally, and I knew he was a conscientious guy who wanted to rep his family, university and team very well. He doesn’t want to be an average guy.”

Wheeler seemed grateful for the improvement Slater helped implement into his game.

“Jackie and I spent seven days together, two-to-three hours a day, and I just turned into a different football player,” Wheeler said.

Slater played all 20 of his years with the Rams organization, which moved from Los Angeles to St. Louis during Slater’s career. Currently, Slater serves as the offensive line coach at Azusa Pacific University, which isn’t far from USC.

Slater isn’t necessarily saying the superstar talent level is there for Wheeler yet, but it’s rather the work ethic that Slater is praising.

“Chad has an unbelievable amount of potential primarily because he has an unemptying desire to grow and to learn his craft,” Slater said. “Playing offensive line is the most technical position in my opinion. At many positions in football, great athletic ability guarantees success. But relying on that exclusively as an offensive lineman will get you fired quicker than anything else. You have to rely on your technique and then use your athleticism to bail you out of bad situations.”

The Giants have an ability to find gems when it comes to undrafted free agents. In recent history, names like Chase Blackburn, Jake Ballard and Victor Cruz come to mind — all of whom played big roles with the Giants during the most recent Super Bowl winning season.

Ultimately, the hope is that Wheeler can be that type of player for Big Blue in the near future.