Andrew Thomas is struggling in his rookie season for the New York Giants. The starting left tackle is receiving a great deal of criticism for his play. There’s growing support for Matt Peart, also a rookie, to replace Thomas. The Giants, however, are staying patient with their first-round draft pick.
Where Thomas has struggled the most this season is in pass protection. Per Pro Football Focus, he has allowed six sacks, tied for the most in the NFL.
“He needs to fight through a lot of this stuff,” offensive line coach Marc Colombo said on Wednesday. “A lot of football is figuring stuff out on the fly. We could show you 5,000 different looks as coaches, give you every pass rush move, we’re studying these guys constantly. But your’e gonna see different looks, you’re gonna see different moves. Part of growing as an offensive lineman is seeing this and being able to handle it on the fly.”
A key responsibility of the left tackle on the offensive line is protecting the right-handed quarterback’s blind side. Thomas, so far, has fallen short of this objective.
The emergence of Peart, a third-round pick, give the Giants something to think about. Peart has been impressive and should continue pushing for more playing time.
Putting Thomas on the bench, however, won’t help him or the Giants.
We’re talking about the fourth overall pick in this year’s draft. Moreover, the Giants, at 1-6, are a rebuilding team. Thomas is an integral piece in the young core they’re trying to build; he needs to play through his struggles.
“That’s something that as you get experience in the NFL — and this experience is really valuable for him. He’s gonna play here for a very long time. He’s gonna be a really good tackle. That’s something you gotta fight through.”
The offensive line of the Giants has been a sore spot for years.
Their efforts to rebuild the line have been futile, at best, and contributed to the poor play from the quarterback position. The second half of Eli Manning’s career was plagued by issues on the O-Line. So far, it hasn’t been much better for Daniel Jones.
The Giants went all-in on drafting Thomas to address those issues. He was picked ahead of top draft prospects Mekhi Becton, Tristan Wirfs, and Jedrick Wills. They’ve all, however, outperformed Thomas.
How Thomas works through his struggles will be a team storyline throughout the second half of this season. He needs to show he can make the necessary adjustments to improve his level of play.
Colombo wants Thomas to fight through the early adversity. And the best way for him to learn is on the field, not from the sideline.
Image: AP
