How has NY Giants' Andrew Thomas fared? My takeaways after watching every snap he's played

EAST RUTHERFORD - New York Giants rookie Andrew Thomas has been at left tackle for every offensive play to start his professional career, 133 snaps in total.

The coaches have been pleased with what he has shown in those two games, but none are satisfied, especially due to the fact that the Giants are 0-2 for the seventh time in eight seasons heading into Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers.

And neither is Thomas, the 21-year-old who embraces the lofty expectations that come with having been the first offensive lineman selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, fourth overall.

"I think he’s handled it really well. I mean, he’s gone against two great pass rushers and he’s held his own for the most part," Giants offensive line coach Marc Colombo said of Thomas. "There’s a lot of room for improvement, and Andrew knows this. It’s really good for him to get these type of pass rushers right off the bat, because his whole entire career is going to be these type of pass rushers. Every week, there’s gonna be a stud just sitting there right up over him and he’s gotta block him. He’s done a good job of that so far. We’ve got to keep pushing and he’s gonna keep seeing these guys, so, he’s capable of shutting down anybody he wants to."

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I took time this week and watched every one of those snaps against the Steelers and the Bears, observing the good and the bad from Thomas against two of the most imposing defensive fronts in the league.

His fundamentals are solid, and you don't see the confusion with stunts and games on the edge that opponents have used to exploit the Giants in the past. Any missed assignments on those, and there were a few, appeared to have belonged to teammates.

Out of all the snaps watched, by my count, there were nine good plays and five bad ones with a virtual standstill on the others against the Steelers. Against the Bears, there were 12 good plays and four bad ones with significant improvement from start to finish.

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Overall, I had Thomas responsible for two sacks and three quarterback hits in two games with, perhaps the most staggering statistic of all, zero penalties. He lost his feet and hit the ground just twice, which was impressive.

Here are my observations from the coaches' film through a play-by-play evaluation of Thomas' start to his Giants' career:

What does Thomas need to clean up?

Thomas did not just improve from Week 1 to Week 2. You could see his progress from the first quarter to the fourth quarter in both games. What was the most common thread to those plays that went against him? Bursts of speed to Thomas' left, very similar to the tactic teammate Lorenzo Carter used in training camp to beat him in the first day of full contact drills. When Thomas gets his hands up and can anchor, he's fared well.

Some of Thomas' miscues came in the run game.

In one sequence against the Steelers, Thomas blocked down and Bud Dupree raced in untouched to deck Saquon Barkley in the backfield. Two plays later, Thomas did a good job of getting to the second level, but whiffed on linebacker Devin Bush, who ended up making the tackle at the line of scrimmage.

Against the Bears, Thomas seemed to have a difficult time with Brent Urban on the interior. The transition from the speed of Quinn and Barkevious Mingo to what appeared to be brute strength of Urban caught Thomas somewhat flatfooted.

Thomas did a good job of sealing Urban off on a run to the right side that turned into an 18-yard gain for Barkley. But Urban gave Thomas problems fighting through initial engagement, which he did to spin away and stop Dion Lewis at the line of scrimmage during the second quarter.

He's a competitor, as advertised

You can tell the Giants have a lot of confidence in Thomas. They rarely sent help in his direction despite knowing his assignments were going to be daunting in pass protection.

And all things considered, Thomas held his own. What I noticed: he learned from his early mistakes against upper echelon talent.

Steelers star Bud Dupree and the Bears' Robert Quinn went after Thomas the most in the first two weeks. What was interesting: Dupree seemed to spend most of the game sizing up Thomas, while it was obvious that Quinn, making his debut, put in time studying what worked for Dupree against Thomas.

The Bears had five different players line up opposite Thomas with varying skill sets.

Quinn is a savvy veteran. Urban is an interior lineman with a completely different skill set. The Bears lined up much wider versus Thomas with Mingo and Quinn looking to challenge with different angles, and for the most part he was undeterred. 

"I wouldn't say the power or the speed [was surprising]," Thomas said Friday. "But, it's like, how refined they are in their moves. They take advantage of things that you do. In college, you might overset, or you might be too long with your outside hand punch, and in the NFL they take advantage of everything you do that might not be correct."

Mack switched to rush against Thomas for the first time late in the third quarter and stayed there for the early part of the fourth, and the former Georgia star did not seem fazed.

"The rushers he’s faced, they’re gonna do their stuff. They’re premier pass rushers, they’re gonna attack Andrew with their best pass rushes," Colombo said. "So he’s seen a variety of looks and they’re giving it to him every which way. But Andrew’s done a really good job of fighting it off."

Here's what was most encouraging

Thomas was outstanding on Jones' two touchdown passes to Darius Slayton in the season opener.

On the first one, Dupree tried a stutter step on Thomas, and as soon as Thomas got his hands on him, he rode the rush beyond the pocket and out of the play.

Thomas just had a strong base against Dupree and did not flinch as Jones hit Slayton for the second scoring strike.

A closer look at the Bears' performance revealed great adjustment from Thomas.

In the first quarter, Quinn beat Thomas with his speed rush, but the strip sack that resulted could have been avoided if Jones did not double clutch when Sterling Shepard flashed open coming across middle for a short gain.

Thomas learned from that previous rep, though, and spent much of the second half toying with Quinn. He began taking deeper pass sets and was able to compensate for the angles.

In the fourth quarter, Quinn tried a speed rush similar to the one he got the first-quarter sack with and Thomas anticipated, letting him run himself out of the play. That kept Jones clean and it would've been a first down completion if not for a drop by Slayton.

He wound up countering speed rushes from Quinn by using them against the veteran, at one point tossing Quinn to the ground in the fourth quarter.

"The first thing is, you've got to find your technique," Thomas said, adding: "It's definitely rewarding. You want to do your best every play, but the reality of it is, it's the NFL, there are going to be times you screw up. Next time you've got to get it right, and it's a good feeling."

The best play of Thomas' first two games happened at the 2:58 mark of the third quarter when, after initially being put on skates by Mack, he held his ground and reset perfectly. That gave Jones time to complete a 20-yarder to Golden Tate. Eight plays later, the Giants were in the end zone celebrating a touchdown.

"I didn't know when, but I knew at some point, [Mack] would come to my side," Thomas said. "Obviously, we studied him thoroughly, and then, when he came over to my side, I did my best to stay with my technique and do the things I was coached."

The final verdict

The athleticism and knowledge of the game has always stood out for Thomas, even if he did not blow up the Combine back in March the way the Jets' Mekhi Becton and Tristan Wirfs of the Buccaneers did.

"How mentally tough he is," Giants coach Joe Judge said of what impresses him most about Thomas. "Those guys had some really elite pass rushers over him the last couple weeks, and it's only going to be the same thing throughout the remainder of our schedule. Everybody's very talented. You know, I think the way his career started already, with who he's facing off against, he understands there's no easy days in the National Football League. So his approach on a daily basis is to improve, to learn from previous mistakes and to go ahead and compete."

So far, Thomas has been up to the task, and the Giants have reason to believe he's only going to get better. He has not been perfect, but his resolve and a clear understanding of how opponents are attacking him should continue to pay dividends down the line with improved play.

Art Stapleton is the Giants beat writer for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to all Giants analysis, news, trades and more, please subscribe today and sign up for our NFC East newsletter.  

Email: stapleton@northjersey.com Twitter: @art_stapleton