New York Giants Andrew Thomas Reveals Thoughts on Fellow Rookie Comparisons
Giants left tackle Andrew Thomas is as much of a competitor as anyone in the league.
But don’t expect the Giants first-round pick from last year’s draft to allow himself to be caught up in any competitive race with his fellow draft classmates at tackle, Tristan Wirfs of the Bucs, Jedrick Wills of the Browns, and Mekhi Becton of the Jets.
“For me, I look at it as running my own race,’’ Thomas said recently. “I want all those guys to be successful, but for me, I want to be the best player I can be for the Giants, for my teammates. That’s what I’m working to be. If I’m focused on what’s going on outside of me, that takes away from being the best player I can be, so I’m just focusing on myself.’’
According to Pro Football Focus, Thomas finished as the sixth highest-graded rookie tackle in his class among those with a minimum of 600 offensive snaps, with Wirfs, Wills and Becton first, second and third, respectively.
And overall, Thomas’s 57 pressures were the most allowed among all the rookie tackles and the second-most allowed by any tackle in 2020, behind Jacksonville’s Jawaan Taylor’s total of 58.
After a rough start to the first half of his season, Thomas, who underwent a position coach change midway through the season, began to settle down and play more to his draft pedigree, pitching three pass-blocking shutouts in the Giants’ final eight games this season.
“Obviously, it didn’t start out the way I wanted it to but being a rookie player, left tackle in the NFL, it’s a tough deal,’’ Thomas said.
“So it just took time. Continued to work, keep my head down, try not to pay too much attention to the media, social media, and things like that.’’
What Thomas did try to pay attention to was his technique and achieving consistency on every snap. He also received one of the toughest indoctrinations among himself, Wirfs, Becton, and Wills, when he drew the opponent’s top pass rusher—often a premier rusher—every week.
Thomas, who has learned many lessons since arriving in the NFL, quickly learned that NFL players do a lot more studying of their opponent to find the tiniest flaw that they can exploit, s
“That’s the biggest thing, I think, going from college to the NFL is just how much you have to study your craft and your techniques,’’ Thomas said.
“Those rushers, they study you, know your stance, they know your hand-placement, all those things, and if you make one small mistake, it can tumble into a snowball effect and be a bad game for you. That’s been the biggest thing I’ve learned so far.”
He’s also learned not to panic out there. While Thomas plays with a certain degree of fire, he won’t go looking for an extracurricular activity that could escalate into a situation that ends up hurting his team.
“He’s one of the most even-keeled guys I’ve ever met,’’ center Nick Gates said. “What you get is what you see. He’s gonna stay the same way, no matter if he’s getting yelled at or if he made the game-winning block.”
Thomas agreed with his teammate’s assessment and said taking such an approach helps him in the long run.
“If you don't know who you are and, and understand what you bring to the table playing in the NFL, playing left tackle and not performing in the way you might want to, it can be a lot or on somebody,” Thomas said.
“So I think being even keeled, understanding that when I play well, that's great--what do I need to work on? If I don't play well, what do I need to work on? I think that keeps me steady regardless of the highs and lows of the season.”
