The selection of Andrew Thomas in the first round of Thursday’s NFL Draft is likely to have a rippling effect on the Giants’ starting lineup this season and sooner than people think.
Thomas is a left tackle, a position currently occupied by veteran Nate Solder, who is one of the highest-paid offensive tackles in the NFL. But Thomas can also play on the right side, so Giants head coach Joe Judge and general manager Dave Gettleman didn’t commit to any changes on Thursday after taking Thomas fourth overall in the draft.
“The good thing about both of our tackles, really all of our tackles, they played on both sides,” Judge told reporters Thursday night. “If you look across the board, everyone on our depth chart right now has played on the right and the left. Everyone is going to come in on Day One and compete and as they shake out, whether that demonstrates being a starter at whatever position, that’s where they’ll fall. We went into this with several players we all thought had the ability to go on both sides, right or left. We made a decision that we’re going to let training camp figure that out.
“We’re not going to have a pre-conceived notion right now of trying to plug someone in. We have a lot of talented guys, they have to compete. This is not a finish line. This is a starting point. He needs to come in, he has to earn it every day, he has to work like every player we had this week in will. But everyone will get the chance to compete, and training camp will really sort out how they fall.”
Last week, Gettleman openly admitted that Solder struggled last season and no one is under any illusions that he is cemented in at left tackle. Solder is susceptible to the speed rush and was beaten badly on many occasions. It only makes sense that Thomas be afforded the opportunity to displace him on the left side.
Left tackle is the premier position on the offensive line and the one that pays the most. It’s the natural order of the NFL for a team to find one in his prime and the Giants didn’t draft Thomas to play right tackle, a position they could have filled later on in the draft. He will likely end up minding Daniel Jones’ blind side come September, or whenever the 2020 season begins.
“He (Thomas) started on the right side as a puppy and two years at left,” said Gettleman. “One of the things that kind of helped the process along is the other day I took a look at his 2018 game when they played Kentucky and he played Josh Allen, and you guys know I’ve got a lot of love for Josh Allen and how talented he is. That really, that was big. As Joe said, he’s played against a lot of legitimate pass rushers and he’s done well.”
That would be the Josh Allen Gettleman bypassed in last year’s draft to select Jones. He is only one of the many speed rushers the Giants must safeguard against and Solder is no longer in his prime. It will be Thomas’ job from here on in.
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