Exploring How the Giants Might Line Up at Offensive Tackle
There's so much we know, and so much we don't know when it comes to Giants football.
For example, we know that barring injury, the starting offensive tackles will be Nate Solder and rookie Andrew Thomas.
What we don't know is who will play on what side--though we can probably use logic in trying to figure it all out.
Thomas, the fourth overall pick in the draft, mostly played left tackle in college, so it would not be a stretch to assume he has a comfort level there. But might the team consider starting him at right tackle, a position that he does have some experience, as a rookie and keeping Nate Solder, who struggled last year, on the left side?
Let's look quickly at the pros and cons of this scenario.
Protecting the quarterback’s blind spot in the NFL is a tough transition for any rookie to make. However, more and more defenses are getting creative in how they deploy their pass rush to where the old school theory of lining up the best pass rusher opposite of a team's left tackle doesn't always hold true in today's game.
Without having had a round of spring football for Thomas to get a feel for a potential position switch, and in not knowing how long training camp might run, the Giants might not have much choice but to start the rookie at left tackle from Day 1 and hope for the best.
The benefit, of course, is that if Thomas is the team's long-term left tackle, they can begin getting him comfortable right away rather than asking him to play a different side only to move him again next year.
Last season, Thomas, per PFF, surrendered only one sack and only allowed four in his three seasons as a starter against some tough SEC competition.
And what about Solder, who last year per PFF was charged with giving up 11 sacks?
Solder did struggle physically after having ankle surgery in the off-season to remove debris, a procedure that to the eye test seemed to be an issue for him into the season given how at times, he was slow off the snap with his footwork.
And for at least as long as he's been with the Giants, Solder has played with a massive apparatus on his arm.
But the real question is if he can make the transition to right tackle, a position he hasn't played since his rookie season.
Solder is certainly up for it--he told reporters as much at the end of last season, and his willingness is half the battle.
But as is the case with Thomas, Solder hasn't had that off-season work (though he does have more experience in dealing with the intricacies of NFL pass rushers.
When head coach Joe Judge says he is going to let things play out, that isn't just coach speak; that is likely a result of not knowing what he'll have as far as a training camp and preseason are concerned.
Given the unprecedented off-season and the uncertainty regarding how long--or even if training camps will be structured, the Giants might not have much choice when it comes to cross-training players.
If that is indeed the case where training camp and/or the preseason is shortened, it makes perfect sense to leave Thomas on the left side and to move Solder to the right side.
As the Giants this year have depth at tackle--Cam Fleming and Nick Gates can both play on either side while Matt Peart is expected to get a crash course in playing right tackle at the NFL level after doing so well at the position in college--if one or both of Solder and Thomas don't pan out as expected or suffer an injury, the Giants have options.
