TOP OF THE LINE
Giants’ Thomas living up to hype as NFL’s best offensive tackle
As debate raged in NFL circles over which of four offensive tackles in the 2020 draft class should be picked first, Jason Garrett offered the Giants a voice of conviction in favor of Andrew Thomas.
“He was as pro-ready a left tackle as I’ve seen in recent years,” Garrett, who was the Giants offensive coordinator at the time, told The Post recently. “To me, there was never a doubt about who that pick [No. 4 overall] should be. It’s certainly bearing out now. He’s a fantastic young man, and he’ll be a good left tackle for a long time.”
Thomas, 23, is the NFL’s toprated offensive tackle, according to Pro Football Focus, at the midpoint of his third season. He is as responsible for the Giants’ surprising 6-2 start as Saquon Barkley (968 yards from scrimmage) or anyone else with quantifiable stats. So much so, actually, that quarterback Daniel Jones broke his mold of platitudes to heap as much praise on Thomas as he has on any teammate in four years.
“He’s playing at an unbelievable level,” Jones said. “When you compare him to guys across the league, I think he’s the best. If not, he’s certainly in that top two or three. That’s huge for us on offense, huge for me as a quarterback being able to count on him playing at that level down after down, game after game. He deserves a lot of credit certainly. It’s no surprise to us.”
One of the perks of winning is the opportunity for individual recognition. Thomas, who has allowed one quarterback hit (zero sacks) on 308 passblocking snaps, is in line to be the first Giants left tackle selected to the Pro Bowl since David Diehl in 2009 and could be the first named First-Team All-Pro since Rosie Brown in 1962.
“As long as the team is winning, I’m feeling good, especially if I’m doing a good job contributing,” Thomas said. “I think all of the individual accolades come if you’re winning and you’re playing well. So, I just try to focus on getting better each day.”
Garrett, who now is a studio analyst for NBC’s “Football Night in America,” quickly became enamored with Thomas’ college tape. The Giants offensive line coach at the time was Marc Colombo, who played right tackle when the Cowboys drafted left tackle Tyron Smith (an eight-time Pro Bowler) with the first pick of Garrett’s tenure as Dallas head coach in 2011.
“Plug Thomas in at left tackle and you don’t have to
worry about that position for the next 10-plus years,” one person involved in the evaluation recalled Garrett saying in a pre-draft meeting. The organization-wide collaborative decision to take Thomas over Tristan Wirfs, Mekhi Becton and Jedrick Wills ultimately was in the hands of general manager Dave Gettleman and head coach Joe Judge.
When Thomas arrived in the NFL, however, he struggled, giving inside positioning to pass rushers who beat him for 10 sacks and a NFL-high 57 pressures. The rookie was susceptible to lifting his anchor foot and getting overextended. Those issues are long gone.
“He’s changing up his sets to counter moves,” respected NFL Network film guru Brian Baldinger said. “He’s jump-setting guys and getting his hands on them quickly, and you only do that if you feel confident about yourself. You are possibly giving up the quickest route to the quarterback, and I haven’t seen him get beat inside yet. If a guy wants to try to beat him around the edge, he has the athletic ability to stay on his feet. Once he gets guys locked up, they aren’t getting off him.”
Thomas, who has two more years of team control on his rookie contract, will be eligible for an extension for the first time this offseason. General manager Joe Schoen reiterated this week that “you take care of your own,” and it sounds as if he sees Thomas as a cornerstone.
“You’re looking at a left tackle: He’s got [quick] feet, length, balance, body control,” Schoen said. “Andrew is playing at a high level. I can go on and on about all the strengths. The weakness box is going to be close to empty. I’ve really enjoyed working with him.”
Thomas is spending part of the Giants’ bye week hosting a turkey drive Friday with the mayor of his hometown, Lithonia, Ga. The time off is no doubt good for his twice surgically repaired left ankle, though that hasn’t slowed down his goal to achieve “consistency.”
“There were some plays last year I would say I had lapses in technique,” Thomas said. “I’m doing a better job this year of just focusing on my technique every play regardless of the situation, and I think that’s helping my game.”
Thomas’ road through adversity, without organized team activities or preseason games as a rookie introduction due to the pandemic, made him stronger.
Now, Baldinger includes Thomas in the upper tier of left tackles, right behind the 49ers’ nine-time Pro Bowler Trent Williams.
“When he’s faced one-on-one with guys, he’s not getting beat,” Baldinger said. “It looks like they drafted a guy to be the anchor, and that’s what he is becoming. You can count on him against the league’s best.”