With the fourth pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the New York Giants took Georgia offensive tackle Andrew Thomas.
Thomas has been considered the top rated offensive tackle in this draft class since the start of last season, and on Thursday the Giants made it official, making him the first tackle off the board.
Giants fans, you may have wanted a pick with a little more pop to it, but as far as offensive linemen go, he’s as good as it gets.
Thomas came to Georgia as a 4-star recruit out of Pace Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. Thomas was ranked as the nation’s No. 45 overall player and as the ninth ranked offensive tackle in the class of 2017.
He enrolled at Georgia on May 30, 2017 and never looked back.
He was a day one starter for the red and black, originally creating holes for tailbacks Nick Chubb and Sony Michel en route to a College Football Playoff berth and eventually a shot at the national title.
He’s done it on the biggest stage week in and week out, going up against the country’s most elite pass rushers in the SEC.
He rarely lost a battle, and there’s proof of it in this footage of Georgia vs LSU in the 2019 SEC Championship Game where Thomas shut down defensive end K’Lavon Chaisson, a projected top-15 pick, all day long.
All of Andrew Thomas' meaningful pass-blocking snaps against LSU's K'Lavon Chaisson (2019)
— Austin Gayle (@PFF_AustinGayle) April 19, 2020
While on the NFL Network today, Georgia coach Kirby Smart said that Thomas is a guy who will be a 12-14 year starter in the pros and that no tackle in this class has done it at a higher level than Thomas has over the last three years.
Thomas’ skills extend way beyond the football field, though. For as long as he can remember, Thomas has had a strong interest in music. He’s a talented pianist and drummer, and in high school he actually played with the marching band. That made his Pace Academy pep rallies difficult sometimes, as he would take part with both the band and the team.
Giants fans, trust me, you got a good one.
.@GeorgiaFootball OT Andrew Thomas has serious 🎹 skills 👏@allforgod_55 | #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/c6OiKel49r
— NFL (@NFL) April 20, 2020