The offensive line has been one of the biggest problem areas for the New York Giants in recent seasons. This year, the Giants will try again to get it right. That process will likely include an offseason position battle at the right tackle position, and it will also require a step forward from Andrew Thomas in his second season.
Another part of the process is offseason training, and the offensive line also seems to be on top of that. The Giants had several players in attendance at the OL Masterminds summit, on top of their usual training.
I am off on vacation, but a #Giants note: Will Hernandez, Nick Gates and Andrew Thomas were among the (many) players at the OL Masterminds summit in Texas, I’m told.
They were among All-Pros and stars. Good move for young players to go and get that sort of teaching.
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) July 11, 2021
It’s the fourth edition of the summit, which has become an annual event and features some of the bigger names at the position sharing expertise. In recent years, events like this have become more common in the NFL. After the OL Masterminds summit proved the concept, a similar ‘Tight End University’ began this offseason and had multiple Giants attending.
The players from the Giants specifically that were in attendance were Will Hernandez, Nick Gates, and Andrew Thomas. Hernandez in particular likely has a lot to gain from the extra training, as the popular narrative about him falling out of favor with the arrival of the new coaching staff seems to be true.
Thomas, on the other hand, has a more secure position but has higher expectations as the much higher draft pick and the player the Giants are trusting at left tackle.
If there’s one thing this says, though, it’s that the team’s roster this season isn’t just waiting around to improve through training camp. We’ve seen multiple position groups take proactive steps like training on their own, and in a high pressure season like this one, that could make a big impact in the results that are to come.