Previewing Andrew Thomas Skillset vs. Top NFC East Pass Rushers

Let's see what the top NFC East pass rushers do well--and how Giants first-round draft pick Andrew Thomas' skill set might match up against them.

Throughout the years, the Giants have tried to add an offensive tackle capable of having a lengthy career with the team, but those experiments have failed miserably. But in Georgia's Andrew Thomas, selected No. 4 overall, there is a lot of reason to be optimistic.

Discernibly productive in college, Thomas was named a first-team All-Freshman at right tackle in 2017, second-team All-American at left tackle in 2018, and first-team All-American at left tackle this past season.

Thomas possesses massive 36⅛-inch arms, and he’s very strong in his lower half. He started in all 41 of his games for the Bulldogs and seems poised to jump into NFL action, as he was the third-highest-graded college tackle in 2019, according to Pro Football Focus.

NFL teams build their rosters to win the Super Bowl; But first, they construct the roster to win their division, as that’s the primary focus.

The Giants have been playing with slight liabilities at their tackle position as late as last year, and that poses a threat to the development of quarterback Daniel Jones, while also stalling the effectiveness of a run game that hasn’t finished in the top half of the league since 2012.

Thomas has the tools and production to help stabilize the run and will protect one side (presumably, he is the long term answer on the left side, but head coach Joe Judge hasn't made any decisions yet). 

This is encouraging news for all Giants’ fans, as six of the Giants' 16 games are played within the division. Theoretically, these games mean more because a win in the division for the Giants means an automatic loss for one of the three teams--Dallas, Washington, and Philadelphia--and a step closer to to the NFC East title for the Giants.

The Giants defense had 36 sacks in 2019, and the Giants offense surrendered 43, with the differential of -7 sacks. Thomas' presence should fix this issue, but when it comes to opponents int eh division, it won't be easy.

The Cowboys have DeMarcus Lawerence, to whom they shelled out a 5-year $105 million contract in 2019. As of right now, I’d say when healthy, Lawrence is the most feared pass rusher in the NFC East, but a rookie may threaten that in a couple of seasons. Lawrence had only five sacks in 2019, after 10.5 in 2018.

The Eagles have Brandon Graham on their roster; effective as a 3-technique on third down, Graham lines up all over the Eagles line and is a terror, with a ton of competitive toughness and hustle.

Graham is coming off an 8.5-sack season. His teammate Derek Barnett was a first-round pick in 2017; he’s raw but quick off the snap, and he can bend. Barnett had 6.5 sacks in 2019.

Washington has three real pass rushers to worry about. The first is the long time starter Ryan Kerrigan. One of the most underappreciated players in the NFL, Kerrigan is coming off an injured 5.5 sack season, but he had 13 in the previous two years.

Washington also has second-year pass rusher Montez Sweat, who they traded up to acquire in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft. Sweat is long and powerful, and he had seven sacks in his rookie season.

Finally, Chase Young, the second overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft is going to be a long-time terror in the division. Young and Thomas will probably become quite acquainted over the years, and it’s truly a shame that he’s in the NFC East.

Without further ado, let’s dive into these players' tape to see how Thomas might stack up.

DeMarcus Lawrence, Cowboys, No. 90

When Lawrence is healthy, he’s an absolute nuisance to block. He’s 6-foot-3, 265 pounds, and is so quick and fluid with his movements.

The biggest issue for Lawrence is health; he struggles to stay on the field, and he’ll play through an injury.

Lawrence is the 5-technique to the left of the screen. The Dolphins run a boundary side power/gap run towards Lawrence, and J’Marcus Webb (No. 61 )does a terrible job positioning himself on Lawrence (he may have thought the motioning H-Back was taken the outside shoulder of Lawrence). 

Whether through miscommunication, or poor positioning, the block was ineffective, and Miami had to create a seal not to allow Lawrence outside and upfield. 

Thomas is a mauler in the run game, and he dominated at the collegiate level; will he dominate a player like Lawrence week in their first matchup? That remains to be seen, but Thomas frames his blocks well in the run game, has immense power, and frequently swiveled his hips on scoop blocks to seal an edge in the run game. 

The positioning by Webb is a recipe for disaster, and I don’t foresee Thomas having positioning issues in these types of situations.

Lawrence takes advantage of the veteran Webb again; from a slightly wide alignment, Lawrence explodes out of his stance with a hard plant foot outside, then inside, before swiping at Webb’s arms, winning the leverage battle, and hitting Webb with a dangerous inside counter spin. 

Lawrence spins Webb completely around and gets the sack on Josh Rosen #3. Webb’s pad level and center of gravity get so high that his punches miss outside, and it gives Lawrence an easy alley to spin into. 

Webb also takes a false step backward with his inside foot, which opens his hips more outside, giving Lawrence even more leverage to the inside. Lawrence is so quick and plays so low that Webb never had a chance. 

Thomas did a good job in college handling counter moves inside, but there were times that his pad level would rise. Thomas will have to be careful and keep that center of gravity low, so his balance is stable, and he can engage the necessary power through his hips to handle counter moves from superior pass rushers. 

Thomas must keep his aiming points on target, and avoid the mistakes that Webb showed above; it’s in his arsenal to do so, but he’ll have to clean up some of these technical intricacies, cause Lawrence will take advantage of mistakes, and he will read/capitalize on sloppy tendencies.

Here’s a different quick inside move against Mike Remmers, No. 74. Lawrence is lined up as the 6-technique, over the tight end. Remmers sets outside, expecting an outside rush, but the Cowboys slid their line pre-snap, and Lawrence knew that the guard would block the 2-technique because he was covered. 

Lawrence uses his excellent lateral quickness to shoot the B-gap and get the sack. This could happen to Thomas if he anticipates an outside rush up the arc. The combination of Thomas’ length and power would help him in recovery here. 

Remmers doesn’t possess either of those two key traits to the level of Thomas, but the young rookie will have to mitigate the mistakes, to not be in these types of situations.

This clip is against one of the top tackles of the 2019 NFL Draft, Cody Ford, who was selected in the early 2nd round (pick 38) by the Bills. As a wide rusher, Lawrence feasts on Ford, who doesn’t set deep enough and gets his arms grabbed, while overextending at the hip and being off-balanced, due to the contact of Lawrence.

Ford gets knocked off balance by the inside arm stab of Ford, who’s arms are 34 inches. The stab forces Ford’s outside arm to be off-kilter, and Lawrence catches the punch and throws it upward, forcing Ford off balance; then, Lawrence dips his inside shoulder and easily rips through the blocking attempt for a half-sack.

Thomas may have some trouble keeping balance around an edge as Ford did here. He showed it a few times on film. However, I do feel Thomas would do a better job holding up to Lawrence’s inside arm stab, which was then set up to the outside moves from Lawrence on Ford. Thomas’ length would also make it difficult for Lawrence to get in such an advantageous position.

Brandon Graham, Eagles, No. 55

The best Eagles pass rusher is Brandon Graham, who lines up all over the Eagles front. He thrives as a 3-technique in passing situations, so Thomas may not see him too much in that regard, but they’ll get to know each other in the trenches.

This clip is against one of the top tackles of the 2019 NFL Draft, Cody Ford, who was selected in the early 2nd round (pick 38) by the Bills. As a wide rusher, Lawrence feasts on Ford, who doesn’t set deep enough and gets his arms grabbed, while overextending at the hip and being off-balanced, due to the contact of Lawrence. 

Ford gets knocked off balance by the inside arm stab of Ford, who’s arms are 34 inches. The stab forces Ford’s outside arm to be off-kilter and Lawrence catches the punch and throws it upward, forcing Ford off balance; then Lawrence dips his inside shoulder and easily rips through the blocking attempt for a half-sack. 

Thomas may have some trouble keeping balance around an edge like Ford did here. He showed it a few times on film. However, I do feel Thomas would do a better job holding up to Lawrence’s inside arm stab, which was the set up to the outside moves from Lawrence on Ford. Thomas’ length would also make it difficult for Lawrence to get in such an advantageous position.

Brandon Graham, Eagles, No. 55

The best Eagles pass rusher is Brandon Graham, who lines up all over the Eagles front. He thrives as a 3-technique in passing situations, so Thomas may not see him too much in that regard, but they’ll get to know each other in the trenches.

Above is one 2019 sack from Graham as a wide rusher. Charles Leno Jr, No. 72, does a solid job blocking Graham’s bull rush attempt; he’s able to stalemate Graham on an island, but Graham is relentless, and Mitch Trubisky is Mitch Trubisky.

Graham can’t get through the tackle, but Trubisky tries to run through the B-Gap, after not making a pass, and Graham presses the inside shoulder of Leno to get his hand on Trubisky and earn the sack. Nevertheless, throughout the play, Graham is lower than Leno Jr., and he never gives up on the play.

The Giants are probably going to trust Thomas on an island often. These types of plays are hard to protect because the blocker is engaged for 3 seconds, and he has no idea where the quarterback is going. Thomas’ anchor may be a bit sturdier than Leno Jr’s, but Thomas can never ease up at all against someone like Brandon Graham.

Derek Barnett, Eagles, No. 96

Barnett hasn’t quite lived up to his potential, coming out of Tennessee back in 2017, but he’s still quick. His go-to move is to leverage his explosiveness and use speed to gain the edge while dipping his inside shoulder and ripping through contact at the top of the arc. 

It’s the exact move you see above against Webb. Barnett lined wide, which accentuates his pass-rushing skill-set, explodes out of a low stance while using his upfield arm to chop the outside arm of Webb. 

Barnett then bends through the contact and rips through the out of position tackle to sack Ryan Fitzpatrick. 

Thomas’ feet aren’t the quickest when juxtaposed with other top tackles, but his long arms usually help push these types of pass rushers up and around the pocket. I can see Thomas having struggles with skilled pass rushers, in a similar mold to Barnett, because of their burst and ability to stay low, while turning; this will reduce their surface area and affect Thomas’ ability to land punches. Thomas will have to be decisive with his feet and maintain a low center of gravity in these situations.

Here’s Barnett in a 2-point stance against one of the best tackles in the league, Tyron Smith, No. 77. Barnett just beats Smith up the arc, and Smith’s punches land when Barnett is already turning the corner.

Once Smith makes contact, Barnett’s already dipping the inside shoulder and cornering the pocket. Smith could have a vertical set, to prevent the wide Barnett from gaining the edge, but he underestimated the explosiveness of the young pass rusher.

Thomas will have to be on point not to allow these types of mistakes.

Ryan Kerrigan, Washington, No. 91

Rookie Chuma Edoga, No. 75, gets taken to task by a veteran pass rusher. Edoga is way too high and attempts to jump set Kerrigan, who is quick for a 31-year-old. Edoga’s hands are late, and he’s way out of position to make a realistic blocking attempt against Kerrigan. 

The longtime Washington pass rusher swats Edoga’s outside arm down with a subtle double swipe, while staying low, and ripping through the top of the arc in what is one of the more effortless pass-rushing reps I’ve seen from a player to get hip to hip on a tackle. 

I don’t envision Thomas being this sloppy with his decision making and technique.

Kerrigan is in a 2-point stance against Edoga, who is covered by a 4-technique. Kerrigan explodes from his slightly wide stance and hits Edoga inside his numbers with an inside long arm move, effectively putting the young tackle on skates. 

Kerrigan then uses his outside arm to catch Edoga’s punch, while using lower leg drive to push Edoga into the guard, knocking him over. Kerrigan then jumps into Sam Darnold and forces a fumble. 

Thomas’ anchor is one of his best traits; I have so much respect for Kerrigan, but I would be shocked if Thomas got moved like this by the veteran pass rusher. 

Thomas’ sets are cleaner than Edoga’s, he’s a lot stronger, and power is far superior. With that being said, Thomas must clean his fundamentals up when going against a craftsman-like Ryan Kerrigan.

Kerrigan can still bring some juice and power to his game, though, even against experienced tackles like Bryan Bulaga, No. 75. Kerrigan is higher, but gains initial contact and can drive through Bulaga into the pocket. Bulaga resets his anchor, but it’s too late.

Moral of the story for Thomas...don’t sleep on the strength of a 31-year-old Ryan Kerrigan.

Montez Sweat, Washington

With all the Chase Young hype, people are sleeping on the immense potential and skill-set of Montez Sweat.

Here we see Sweat from a wide-9 take advantage of current Giant Cameron Fleming #75. Sweat uses his dangerous inside long arm technique while driving through Fleming and using his outside arm to swat the outside arm of the tackle away.

Sweat uses his strength to get back into the pocket while putting stress on the veteran tackle and eventually knocking him down. Sweat has speed, and he combines it with impressive power, along with his imposing length (35 ¾” arms, with an 84¾” wingspan). There aren’t many pass rushers in NFL history with the length of Montez Sweat.

The combination of Young and Sweat will be very scary. Luckily for Thomas, he has the power and length to combat Sweat, but it’ll be an interesting battle.

Chase Young, Washington 

Here are all of Chase Young's 16.5 sacks from last season. #Redskins pic.twitter.com/MIFb8PEgI2

— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) April 16, 2020

rd. I implore the people who say he disappears in games to rewatch said games; the offenses were calling their plays to avoid Young, to combat Young, while also double and even triple-teaming him at times. He’s going to be a force in the league. 

Andrew Thomas will win some reps, and he’ll lose some reps. This could be the next Michael Strahan vs. Jon Runyan battle. Every Giants’ matchup with Washington will be entertaining, and I’m sure the No. 2 and No. 4 selections in the 2020 draft will always be linked, due to them both landing in the NFC East. 

One thing is certain, Thomas will have to bring his A-game against Washington, and that is certainly possible.