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Ranking the top 5 options for the NY Giants at pick #4

By Charles Vitolo

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - OCTOBER 05: Andrew Thomas #71 of the Georgia Bulldogs looks to block DeAndre Johnson #13 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the fourth quarter of the game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - OCTOBER 05: Andrew Thomas #71 of the Georgia Bulldogs looks to block DeAndre Johnson #13 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the fourth quarter of the game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on October 05, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images) /
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NY Giants draft target Andrew Thomas(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
NY Giants draft target Andrew Thomas(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

1. OT Andrew Thomas

While this won’t come as a surprise to anyone that frequents this site, former Georgia star left tackle Andrew Thomas is my #1 option here due to the fact that he’s my top option at offensive tackle and has been throughout this entire process.

For some reason, even though he was the consensus #1 offensive tackle on most expert’s boards all of last season, his stock has somehow dropped after no more games have been played and he put together a respectable combine performance.

It is true that I mocked Isaiah Simmons to the NY Giants in our Fansided expert mock draft at the beginning of March, but it’s important to note that this was before free agency when it was expected Big Blue would address the tackle position.

That did not happen, and even though I have a slightly higher overall grade on Simmons as a prospect (A-) than I do Thomas (B+), positional value and team need set these two apart for me.

The former top 50 high school national recruit had almost a flawless career at Georgia, playing against the best of the best in terms of competition. Staggeringly, he allowed just 36 total pressures in 41 games. Some have pointed to his lack of elite athleticism for the reason he’s not the top tackle prospect, but I don’t see his athleticism being an issue at all.

It’s true that some of the other tackle prospects put together ridiculous combines with some earth-shattering numbers, but that shouldn’t take anything away from the 6’5 320 pound Thomas who has the best tape by far out of the group. He’s got the lowest floor out of the ‘big 4″ offensive tackle prospects which is very important due to the NY Giants not being able to afford to miss here.

If there is a weakness in Thomas’ game, I’m failing to see it. The two-time first-team All-American uses his almost perfect technique to lull his defenders to sleep and consistently gets the better of them with his hand usage.

Some have argued that the team should in fact wait on an offensive tackle due to this being such a strong overall class, but as many as 6-7 tackles are expected to go in the first round, leaving us with a developmental-like prospect at #36. The Giants are not in a position to take a risk on that type of player with a premium pick.

Barring major injury, Thomas profiles as a plug and play 10-year starter at left tackle. We don’t get cute here and chase a better athlete, but simply take the best player at our biggest position of need.

This draft pick needs to be about the next several years and not just 2020, and having an offensive tackle to go along with a quarterback on rookie deals is the way to go.

(Obviously, if the team can trade down and still get Thomas, that remains the best possible scenario — and it is a very real one)

Overall Grade: B+

Team need: 10/10

Positional value: 9/10

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