Will Beatty

William Keith Beatty (born March 2, 1985 in York, Pennsylvania) is an American football offensive tackle for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He is currently the starting Left Tackle. He was drafted by the Giants in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Connecticut.

Pre-Draft
Will participated in the 2009 NFL Combine in Indianapolis. He wore the OL2 jersey. He was a top performer in the 40yd Dash, the Vertical Jump, the Broad Jump, and the 3 Cone Drill. Will did 27 reps of 225 lbs at the Combine, but elected to re-do the Bench at the UCONN Pro-Day, where he did 30 reps of 225 lbs.

Draft
He was drafted with the 28th pick of the second round (#60 overall) by the New York Giants in the 2009 NFL draft. On July 30, 2009, the Giants announced that they had signed Beatty to a 4 year contract worth $2.67 million.

Rookie Season 2009
In his rookie season, Will played in all 16 games. He began the season as a special teams player and situational tight end when the Giants wanted to use an extra blocking tight end. Will started 4 games in his rookie campaign at Right Tackle, replacing the injured Kareem Mackenzie. His first career start came against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday Night Football on NBC on October 25, 2009. This ended the current streak of 38 consecutive starts by the offensive line unit. Not until the final 3 games of the regular season did Will get the opportunity to start again as Mackenzie went down with another injury. Will started against the Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football on December 21, 2009; the Carolina Panthers on December 27, 2009; and the Minnesota Vikings on January 3, 2010. In all of the final 3 games Will went up against premier defensive ends including Washington's Brian Orakpo, Carolina's Julius Peppers, and Minnesota's Jared Allen. The Giants failed to make the playoffs in 2009 despite winning their first 5 games of the year.

2010 Season
The 2010 offseason had much speculation about WIll becoming the starting left tackle. While all of those rumors flew around Will began the regular season as an extra tight end and special teams contributor. In the first game of the 2010 season, Will suffered a foot injury that would sideline him for 8 weeks. He was able to return in full strength and ended up starting 2 games at Left Tackle for the injured David Diehl. During this season, Will did not give up any sacks. He defines his role with the Giants succinctly: "Keeping Eli clean is my job."

2011 Season
During the lockout of the 2011 offseason, Will gained 19 pounds and reported to camp at 319 pounds. Upon arriving to camp, Will was immediately named the starting Left Tackle with the subsequent releasing of veteran offensive linemen Shaun O'Hara and Rich Seubert. In the first preseason game against rookie Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers, Will did not give up any sacks. Will gained national media attention in the week following the game for his tough practicing against Jason Pierre-Paul, who had 2 sacks in the Carolina Preseason game and veteran Osi Umenyiora. Will wrote on his Twitter page, "Today I showed a vet, Osi Umenyiora #NYG how much I have grown and prepared this off season. I'm glad to have the opportunity to practice my skill on a great pass rusher in the NFL." The following day he added, "We had open practice today and all I can say is, if you missed practice you missed a good show." This smack-talking was well received by Giants fans who originally thought that Beatty was too soft and mild-mannered to play in the NFL. Will started the first 10 games at Left Tackle for the Giants in 2011.

Detached Retina
On November 23 he discovered that he had a detached retina after playing the Philadelphia Eagles. Will said he could not even see his nose when he looked down. Will had emergency surgery the next day on Thanksgiving Day in New York City to fix the issue. He missed the Monday Night Football game (loss) against the New Orleans Saints. While his eye has been 100% fully reattached, he would not be ready for full contact this season. He was placed on the injured reserve on November 30 with the Giants record being 6-5. The Giants went on to win the Super Bowl this season.

Offseason
During the offseason, during a lifting session, William disrupted the sciatic nerve in his back. The nerve injury sidelined Will from OTA's.

2012 Season
While allowing the Sciatic nerve to fully heal, Will was forced to sit out the majority of the pre-season. When he did practice at the University of Albany, he worked with the 1's and 2's, and also took extra reps with Osi Umenyoria.

Since WIll had the detached retina the previous season, he was approved for a new helmet, with a shaded visor and a 5 bar facemask. The helmet is in similar style to Chris Canty, and Justin Tuck.

Will was declared "healed" by the medical staff prior to week 1 of the regular season, but in attempt to ease Will back into the flow of the game, the coaching staff used Will as a 3rd TE in their jumbo package against the Cowboys. Veteran tackle Sean Locklear got the start for Will in the season opener. The Giants lost to the Cowboys.

In the second game of the season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Locklear also got the start over Beatty. Will started the game as the 3rd TE in the jumbo package. In the first half of the game, Eli Manning threw a red zone pass just behind a wide open Will, who missed the catch. Will poked fun at himself on his Twitter page, "I had a moment to show the world how versatile O Line men can be..... Sorry fellows for not finishing the play." He also include a video of the missed catch on his page. Also during the 1st half, RT David Diehl went down with a knee injury. Locklear then moved to RT, and Will moved into the LT spot. Will's run blocking and pass protection were very good. He and the rest of the offensive line worked cohesively to protect Eli Manning while he manufactured a fourth quarter comeback for the ages.

The third game of the season was a Thursday Night game against Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers. Will started the game at LT. The offensive line blocked extremely well in pass protection and run blocking. 4th year RB Andre Brown, in his first career start, ran for 113 yards and 2 TD's, both behind Will on the left side. This game was arguably Will's finest game as a pro to date.

Will started the remaining games of the 2012 season at Left Tackle for the Giants. For the 3rd time in his four year career, the Giants failed to make the playoffs. They finished with a 9-7 record.

For the 2012 NFL season, Pro Football Focus ranked Will as the #2 overall LT in the NFC with a 22.3 rating, behind Pro-Bowler Joe Staley. Pro Football Focus also ranked Will as the #3 Pass Blocking LT in the NFC, and #2 Run Blocking LT in the NFC (#5 in the NFL), making him one of the most balanced and productive LT in the NFL. If it were not for 11 penalties, Will would have ranked even higher on these charts.

2012 Offseason
On February 27, 2013, Will re-signed with the New York Giants. Will signed a 5 year contract worth up to $38.75 million dollars, with $19 million guaranteed and a $12.5 million signing bonus.

“It’s good to be home,” Beatty said. “It’s a great feeling. You could be going through free agency, but when that happens a lot of stuff is going through your mind. That feeling is no longer there. You’re settled in with a great team, a team I love playing for. I know the coaching staff. I’m looking forward to getting back in it and moving forward. “I’m glad I don’t have any of those free agency jitters to deal with. It’s settled, we’re done and we’re moving on. The contract is behind you – you just have to make sure you’re out there on the field and being a leader out there.”

Giants GM Jerry Reese commented that “We are very pleased to get a new deal done with Will. We believe he is one of the ascending left tackles in the NFL.”

Personal
Will graduated with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies and has garnered national attention in the New York Times and York Daily Record for his ability to sew, cook, clean, draw and play the piano. Will became engaged in the Summer of 2011 in Hawaii to Rebecca Helwig. The two were married on February 11, 2012 in West Orange, NJ and are expecting their first child in the Spring of 2013. Will also owns a clothing line, The William Beatty Apparel Company, that he is currently working on.