The New York Giants emerged victorious against the Tennessee Titans in Week 1 of the 2022 regular season. Despite an unexpected result, new head coach Brian Daboll has set the stage for year one of a full-scale rebuild.
Despite a number of factors that need to be corrected and improved upon moving forward, one of the Giants’ most consistent players continues to be left tackle Andrew Thomas.
Thomas is coming off a dominant 2021 season after a tough rookie campaign back in 2020. As a rookie, he gave up 10 sacks and 57 pressures across 970 offensive snaps, labeling him a bust early on. However, he returned last season a different player, allowing two sacks and 18 pressures on 800 offensive snaps, grading out as one of the best tackles in football.
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New York Giants LT Andrew Thomas deserves more attention:
However, Thomas still isn’t getting the recognition he deserves, even after a dominant Week 1 game against Tennessee.
Over 61 snaps, Thomas gave up just one pressure, helping significantly to protect Daniel Jones’s blindside. Jones was receiving plenty of pressure from the left guard position and rookie right tackle Evan Neal was beaten up on occasion, but the consistency of Thomas stood out as a major positive.
As a former first-round pick, the Giants can still keep him around for two more years beyond 2022 by accepting his fifth-year option. Having a bookend tackle on a rookie deal, also known as “cost controlled,” according to general manager Joe Schoen, provides the Giants with plenty of flexibility.
Having a stand-out left tackle is a difficult thing to find, and it remains one of the best things Dave Gettleman left behind among a myriad of disastrous moves.
If Thomas can maintain his health, he could be in line for his first Pro Bowl appearance this year, which certainly seems to be deserved after a great start to the season.