New York Giants: Andrew Thomas speaks on the start of his NFL career

New York Giants, Andrew Thomas

The New York Giants took a gamble by choosing Andrew Thomas. The team needed an offensive lineman, but Thomas wasn’t the highest rated out of the prospects available at the time. The move seemed to surprise many experts and broke some predictions. But the Thomas pick was generally well received, and we’ve now gotten a chance to see Thomas in action for a pair of games after the Giants’ week one and two performances.

Thomas spoke about this experience on Friday, going into the week three matchup with the 49ers.

Specifically, he gave some insight on the things he learned early on from two games played so far in the NFL.

“You have to be very specific in your technique every play. You can’t get lulled to sleep. You can’t revert to old habits. You have to make sure you have the same technique. The biggest thing for me is having different types of sets, different types of approaches to guys. If you do the same thing over and over, they will adjust to it. Being able to switch up your technique,” Thomas told reporters.

As it stands, the Giants are one of the worst teams in the league in keeping pressure off their quarterback. It was one of the big factors in the Steelers running over the team in their opener, and the close result against the Bears may have gone differently with a good offensive line. As for Thomas, there’s mixed reviews – but much of the problems are understandable given how little experience Thomas has overall.

And when Thomas has looked good, it’s been against quality competition so far.

“I knew all those guys are very talented,” Thomas said about the rushers he’s faced in the opening weeks of the season. “That’s the beauty of the NFL, it’s every week, you’re going against the best. Especially playing left tackle. Some of the best pass rushers in the world, so I have to be prepared every week. It was a great start going against some guys like that.”

Nick Bosa and Soloman Thomas are out for the year for the 49ers, it seems, which means Thomas catches something of a break against San Francisco. But that’s not to say the game will be easy. Thomas is still a rookie in the NFL, after all. And the 49ers in general are in a better spot than the Giants, having defeated the Jets at this very same stadium in their most recent game.

Improvement from Thomas, or not, though, the Giants certainly need a win in week 3. A victory there would go a long way in putting off fears of this season being just like the previous ones.