NY Giants rookie left tackle Andrew Thomas was benched ahead of Sunday’s game vs. Chase Young
The NY Giants made a significant change along the offensive line, benching rookie left tackle and No. 4 overall pick in the NFL Draft, Andrew Thomas, ahead of Sunday’s game against the Washington Football Team.
Thomas was slated to line up opposite Football Team rookie, and No. 2 pick defensive end Chase Young for the first time. However, a source confirmed to GMenHQ that Matt Peart will start over Thomas, as first reported by ESPN’s Jordan Raanan:
The expectation is that rookie LT Andrew Thomas will not start Sunday vs. Washington, per source. Rookie third-round pick Matt Peart will take his spot. We’ll see if it’s a temporary change.
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) October 18, 2020
It had been a rough first five games of Thomas’ NFL career.
According to Pro Football Focus, Thomas has already surrendered four sacks, 28 pressures, and three quarterback hits in 319 total snaps.
Thomas’ struggles are emblematic of the Giants’ rookie class under-performing, as well as an indictment of NY Giants general manager Dave Gettleman’s recent failures in the NFL Draft.
Prior to his benching Sunday, Thomas said that his confidence had not been rattled, despite poor performances against some of the NFL’s premier pass rushers such as the Dallas Cowboys’ Demarcus Lawrence, Pittsburgh Steelers’ T.J. Watt, and Chicago Bears’ Khalil Mack.
“No, I wouldn’t say that my confidence is shaken,” Thomas said Friday. “I think, like I said, there are things that I definitely need to work on. That comes from practice and repetition, and like we talked about earlier, going up against these very talented pass rushers early I think will actually help build my confidence because I’ve seen the best. I’ve seen what the greatest in the NFL look like, so I can continue to get better each and every week.”
Matt Lombardo is the site expert for GMenHQ, and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday for FanSided. Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL.