Andrew Thomas NFL Draft Profile: Georgia Football's Greatest Tackle Prospect
Georgia has placed three offensive tackles in the first round of the NFL Draft since 1999. Matt Stinchcomb in 1999, George Foster in 2003, and Isaiah Wynn in 2018.
Andrew Thomas is set to be the fifth name on that list at the culmination of this month's NFL Draft. He is ranked 15th on SI.com's NFL Draft big board, and you can make the case that of all those exceptionally talented former Georgia Bulldogs, Thomas is the greatest tackle prospect of them all.
When combined with the overall career achievements, matched with the NFL Draft projection, Thomas edges out the rest. Here's why:
Career:
Though George Foster and Isaiah Wynn have similar career trajectories during their time at Georgia. Both played the role of "First man off the bench" early in their careers, Wynn got his first collegiate starts at Guard before moving out to tackle. Then both Foster and Wynn went on to become lockdown left tackles their senior seasons before heading off the NFL Draft.
As for Matt Stinchcomb and Andrew Thomas, it was a slightly different story. Both earned a starting tackle spot as true Freshman and played at a first-round level from start to finish in their career. Stinchcomb, a two-time All-American and Jacobs Blocking Award winner. Thomas, a two-time All-American and Jacobs Blocking Award winner.
So, as for the totalities of the career, Stinchcomb — A member of the College Football Hall of Fame — obviously stands up with Andrew Thomas. It's hard to take Thomas over a HOF'er, but he's close.
OT, Andrew Thomas
NFL Draft Projection:
- Matt Stinchcomb: 18th Overall, 1999
- George Foster: 20th Overall, 2003
- Isaiah Wynn: 23rd Overall, 2018
- Andrew Thomas: 10th Overall*
*Average Draft Position over Top 8 NFL Mock Drafts, picks ranging from 2nd overall to 15th overall.
In terms of career accomplishments, the only former offensive tackle that stands up to Thomas' three-year career is Matt Stinchcomb. And it's a difficult separation to make, but perhaps their NFL careers will finalize this argument in the end. Stinchcomb's career was unfortunately riddled with injury, he didn't really see the field in the NFL until 2001 when he returned from shoulder and knee surgeries in back to back seasons.
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