Giants Dip into Offensive Tackle Rich Draft Class to Add Georgia's Andrew Thomas
The Giants' arduous journey of finding a young, competent, offensive tackle through the draft has finally been answered in the form of Georgia offensive tackle Andrew Thomas.
Thomas started all 41 games since he arrived on campus and brought a wealth of experience for a 21-year-old prospect. He was a Freshman All-American in 2017, a 2nd Team All-American in 2018, along with 1st Team All-SEC.
This past season, Thomas was 1st Team All-American, while winning the Jacobs Blocking Trophy. There’s no wonder he was a team captain for Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs.
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Twenty-six of his total starts came at left tackle, so he is interchangeable, which is important if incumbent left tackle Nate Solder stays on the left side in 2020.
In high school, Thomas was a U.S. Army All-American selection, while also being a dominant nose tackle on defense. He also has some athletic lineage; his uncle Darrell played college basketball at Samford, and his uncle Emmanual played college basketball at Stephen F. Austin.
Although Tristan Wirfs overshadowed him at the combine, Thomas still put together respectable athletic numbers, testing 85th percentile in the broad jump and 80th percentile in the vertical jump.
His 36⅛” arm length is 97th percentile among offensive tackles, which is incredible, but he combines that with a lot of other interesting traits. Thomas is mainly known for his ability as a run blocker, which is deadly, and his anchor in pass protection.
Thomas clears lanes with good fluidity and strength to turn and seal on the edge. He has a very strong punch and utilized it to dominate SEC competition over the last three seasons.
He does a good job maximizing his anchor; uncoils his hips and explodes low to high to open a path, while re-coiling when necessary to engage more power through his lower body and core. Thomas has true left tackle traits, and the NFL falls in love with these types of prospects.
There is a lot to like about Thomas, but he’s not a perfect prospect--he's a bit of a “tonger” who latches to the outside of blockers and doesn’t consistently win the inside breastplate. I wish he played with a bit more balance, tends to get too high, and I would like to see more consistency with his strike placement in pass protection.
His length certainly helped him overcome some footwork issues in pass protection. His feet can be a bit slow, but they’re not terrible, and he can get caught lunging at the waist, which hinders his balance.
He has a decent amount of lower body mechanics that aren’t crisp and may need top-level coaching to maximize all of his intriguing traits. His footwork isn’t as smooth as Alabama’s Jedrick Wills', but not many are.
Overall, the Giants are getting a talented, young, powerful tackle that can grow with Daniel Jones. Thomas’ length, lower body drive, and ability to be effective against the run and pass are very valuable.
Some of his hiccups with strike placement and lunging can be corrected by a good coach, like Marc Colombo. I feel Thomas has a safe floor and will be a good starting left tackle for years to come.
