The New York Giants believe they chose well when they selected Georgia offensive tackle Andrew Thomas fourth overall in this year’s NFL Draft.
Although Thomas has yet to even take a snap in an NFL practice, never mind a game, he’s already being counted among some of the league’s best tackles.
In a recent list of the top 25 offensive tackles in the league by Anthony Treash of Pro Football Focus, Thomas came in at No. 22.
“Yes, that’s right — a rookie cracked the top 25. He has yet to play a snap in the league, but what we saw from Thomas at Georgia makes us confident in projecting him to the NFL. (You can read about why from PFF’s Eric Eager here.),” writes Treash. “Thomas played against some of the best competition in the country and earned a remarkable 92.7 PFF grade in 2019, tying for the best we have ever seen from an SEC tackle (La’el Collins in 2013 at LSU). He might struggle to start given the impact of COVID-19 on the offseason/preseason schedule, but Thomas looks like a safe bet in our eyes.”
This piece was likely written before Nate Solder, the Giants’ starting left tackle, opted out of the 2020 season. That decision has thrust Thomas to the front of the line to become the Giants’ starting left tackle Day One of his pro career.
The Giants’ other alternative is to start Thomas on the right side early on and let a veteran such as Cam Fleming or Nick Gates take on left tackle until Thomas gets his feet wet.
But what purpose would that serve? Thomas was chosen fourth overall, which means he’s supposed to challenge for a starting role upon arrival. So, why not put him at left tackle from the jump rather than toy around with other options that would be temporary.
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