If Eli Manning had a Twitter account, he could just block DeMarcus Lawrence himself.

The Giants’ 38-year-old quarterback doesn’t — so he will need his offensive line to do it for him on the field.

Lawrence, the Pro Bowl Bowl pass-rusher for the Dallas Cowboys, has become Manning’s personal troll on social media. He has taken aim at Manning at least three times since the 2018 NFL Draft — all in the same vein.

Manning sits like a statue in the pocket and therefore is easy target practice. In a way, it’s also a cheap shot at the Giants’ pass protection.

“I couldn’t care less what he has to say on social media,” left guard Will Hernandez told NJ Advance Media. “All these guys are just talking and talking. To me, it’s all about, what are you going to do on the field? It’s almost funny to me how they would say it behind their computer or on their phone.”

Lawrence has 3.5 sacks and eight quarterback hits in eight career games against Manning, according to Pro Football Reference.

It’s a productive stat line, but Lawrence isn’t even the biggest Manning nemesis with the name “DeMarcus” who played for the Cowboys: DeMarcus Ware had 13.5 sacks and 17 hits in 18 matchups from 2005-13.

Are Manning’s body guards itching to jump to his defense on their social media accounts?

“I’m not stooping to that level," center Jon Halapio said. “We just have to take care of business within our group and what we do in this building.”

A strong case could be made the Giants offensive line is the biggest key to the season. General manager Dave Gettleman and coach Pat Shurmur believe Manning can recapture his two-time Super Bowl MVP self — if he is properly protected.

But, if the offense is floundering like it did last season, Manning now is more likely to head to the bench in favor of rookie Daniel Jones. The in-season change in 2018 was to bench then cut two starting offensive linemen, Patrick Omameh and Ereck Flowers.

The Cowboys, ranked the No. 2 defense for 2019 by NFL.com, present a stiff season-opening challenge, led by Lawrence and linebackers Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch. Lawrence signed a five-year, $105 million extension in the offseason, emboldening him to talk more.

“I’ve only seen it once, but I’ve heard about it,” Halapio said. “Once you feed into those things, you are being distracted.”

After one of his sacks of Manning last season, Lawrence pushed left tackle Nate Solder out of the way so he could celebrate for the cameras.

“I don’t know him personally,” said Solder, a co-captain bred in the New England Patriots no-talk culture. “What we have to focus on is ourselves. I have tremendous respect for the way that he plays, regardless of what he says or doesn’t say. That guy is really good, and we are going to have to play really well against him."

Lawrence celebrated the Giants passing on a quarterback in the 2018 NFL Draft to keep Manning and draft Saquon Barkley. Earlier this year, he wanted to send Manning some Snickers bars as a thank you for helping him be successful enough to land an endorsement. Then, most recently, he called it a “blessing” to face Manning twice per season in the NFC East (mobile app users please click here to see Lawrence’s tweets).

Anyone know Eli’s address? I wanna send him some of these @SNICKERS . 😂 #ThankfulForHisContributions — DeMarcus Lawrence (@TankLawrence) April 18, 2019

DeMarcus Lawrence got cleared to practice earlier than he thought from shoulder surgery. Did individual work today.



Tank on being mentally ready to see Eli Manning Week 1:



“That’s also been a blessing to my career, to be able to go against Eli twice a year. I’m ready for it.” — Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 20, 2019

Hernandez, a second-year pro considered one of the top young offensive guards in the NFL, admitted it “surprises” him to see.

“I play hard regardless of whether the person across from me is playing hard or not, whether they are talking a lot of trash or they are not,” Hernandez said. “That’s why it doesn’t matter to me. Either way, I’m going to try and their head off. It’s not going to change.”

Manning took a career-high 47 sacks last season. The Giants added veterans Kevin Zeitler and Mike Remmers as starters on the right side of the line

“We’ve got intelligent guys, tough guys, who are not going to quit," Solder said. “It’s not always pretty. A lot of those games against Dallas are ugly. But if you keep working like this group is willing to do, then you can have some success.”

Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook.