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New York Giants rookie offensive tackle Andrew Thomas has not exactly experienced a solid start to his NFL career. In fact, Thomas is one of the worst tackles in football, having surrendered 37 pressures, four QB hits and six sacks through seven weeks.
Those numbers are appalling and have Thomas teetering on bust status, but the Giants and first-year head coach Joe Judge seem undeterred.
“Andrew’s a good guy to build with. We have a lot of plans long-term with Andrew. He’s the kind of guy we want to work with, both physically and his personality off the field. We have a lot of confidence in Andrew,” Judge told reporters on Friday. “We’re going to keep working with him and developing him going forward. I fully expect Andrew to have a very productive, long career in this league. We enjoy him being a Giant.”
Thomas’ struggles, along with those of Cam Fleming and others across the offensive line, have created a difficult work environment for second-year quarterback Daniel Jones.
In seven games this season, Jones has been under pressure on 116 of his 265 drop backs, including 20 sacks. But Thomas is a hard worker and good guy, so Jones shouldn’t expect a change on his blindside.
“I see him coming to work every day with a good attitude, effort and energy,” Judge said of Thomas. “When you see guys with confidence issues, normally the urgency goes down. I see this guy work tirelessly every day, so no. He’s a pleasure to be around right there. Look, he’s a young player who’s still learning to develop in this league. Nothing is going to be perfect all the time. We need to keep doing a good job of coaching him and bringing him along.”
Things get no easier for Thomas, who will face ex-Giant Jason Pierre-Paul and Shaq Barrett in Week 8.
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