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When the New York Giants selected Georgia offensive tackle Andrew Thomas with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, experts lauded the move.
Thomas was the most ‘pro-ready’ prospect of all of the talented tackles in the draft class they said.
What’s happened between now and then is unclear. Thomas has gone from potential Pro Bowl prospect to becoming a colossal bust. To say he has been beaten like drum from his very first game on would be putting it lightly.
Lowest QB pressure % among 1st RD OTs:
1. Mekhi Becton, Jets – 4.8%
2. Tristan Wirfs, Bucs – 5.1%
3. Jedrick Wills Jr, Browns – 5.2%
4. Austin Jackson, Dolphins – 7.6%
5. Andrew Thomas, Giants – 14.2% pic.twitter.com/mW5foIiMVn— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 22, 2020
On Thursday against the Philadelphia Eagles, he was so noticeably bad it was bordering on embarrassing. Here’s some commentary from Twitter.
Giants ESPN beat reporter Jordan Raanan: “LT Andrew Thomas played all 55 offensive snaps vs. Eagles after a benching last week for being late to a team meeting. Finished with a 43.8% pass block win rate. League average for OTs is somewhere in the 87% range. Another really rough evening for the rookie.”
NFL Media analyst Bucky Brooks: “The Giants must be concerned about Andrew Thomas and his struggles. He’s having a tough time holding up in 1v1s on the edge. As the No.4 overall pick, you expect him to be a “plug-and-play” prospect. He’s only six games into his career but he’s not playing like it.”
The Giants needed Thomas to come in and actually be an upgrade from the fading Nate Solder, but he’s been worse — a lot worse — if that is even possible.
Thomas can’t seem to handle any type of rush — inside or outside — consistently and doesn’t get his arms extended or his hands on the pass rusher. You will see the best OTs in the game have a great ‘punch’ that stands pass rushers up and slows them. I haven’t seen any of that from Thomas. He’s been simply underwhelming.
How is possible the Giants keep getting this critical part of the roster wrong?
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