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[BlueInCanada]

Thomas has made good on recruiters' belief in his talent. The five-star prospect and top-50 overall recruit stepped into the lineup immediately for the Bulldogs, garnering Freshman All-American accolades after starting all 15 games at right tackle straight out of Georgia's Pace Academy. (Not surprisingly, he was named to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's "Super 11" team.) He moved to left tackle for his sophomore campaign, earning second-team Associated Press All-American and first-team All-SEC honors for his play in 13 starts. Thomas missed one game in 2018 due to an ankle injury, but the only game he missed in his junior campaign was the bowl game to prepare for the draft. He started 13 games at left tackle and was awarded first-team Associated Press All-American and first-team all-conference accolades in 2019.

 

 

By Lance Zierlein

NFL Analyst

NFL Comparison

Ja'Wuan James

Overview

Three-year starter and current bellcow of a line that is a consistent front-runner for the Joe Moore Award. He's played both tackle spots but may get first crack at playing on the left side, due to the dearth of talent there. Thomas is a gritty player with above-average recovery talent to "get the job done" when his process breaks down. He's a Day 1 starter who comes in well-coached and technically savvy, but occasional leaning, lunging and inconsistent knee bend in pass pro could be isolated and attacked by pass-rush wolves looking to feast if he doesn't get those areas cleaned up.

Strengths

• Ability to play either tackle spot
• Plays with a fiercely competitive mentality
• Hurries to get to lateral landmarks in run game
• Powerful meat hooks for hands
• Quality gather and redirects for second-level adjustments
• Twitchy movements to mirror and engage
• Quick processor snapping twists off without leaving home base
• Maintains base width regardless of where pass rep takes him
• Effective catch technique on kick-out blocks and for pass punch
• Unique talent in re-setting feet mid-rep to improve leverage and positioning
• Corralls inside moves with strong, sticky right hook to capture foe's frame
• Above-average recovery talent to redirect with power

Weaknesses

• Lacks prototypical build and limb thickness
• Is a little heavy-legged in his second-level climbs
• Tight hips limit lateral movements and pad-level battles for leverage
• Top-heavy into initial contact and doesn't get hips unlocked
• More mauler than mover
• Needs to improve foot positioning to help steer and secure kick-outs
• Pass slides are choppy and lack desired smoothness
• Anchor against speed-to-power has more give than you want
• Gets caught leaning and over-extending in pass pro

[BlueInCanada]

I mean he's a tackle, but I felt like there was better tackles there, or more athletic ones atleast.

But atleast we wont go into the year with Gates starting so that's a bonus.

[BlueInCanada]

ANALYST'S REPORTS

Solak

Marino

Harris

Crabbs

Reid

Footwork: Quality work on 45-degree and vertical sets in general, though if he loses the first step, he doesn't have the necessary foot speed to gain depth and recover, so he has to flip his hips and carry rushers beyond the quarterback's set points. Quiet feet with good post foot maintenance when someone tries to come inside him and can settle his feet into his anchor immediately against power, with good ankle flexibility to fight pressure with pressure.

Pass Protection Technique: Long, strong, and stout. Extremely difficult to go through him because of his mass and lower-body power with a quality base and hip sink for a player of his size, and extremely difficult to go around because of his length and upper-body power. Denies inside counter moves with framing on 45-degree and vertical sets and is willing to let rushers get to his outside hip, then open the door and push them beyond the peak of pocket, which will not be as successful in the NFL against bendy rushers.

Run Blocking Technique: Like a runaway train with Deontay Wilder's reach. Shocking power at the point of contact to immediately uproot opponents. Regularly wrenches defensive tackles and ends out of gaps and road-paves on power concepts when he's offered an angle to crash a double team or climb/pull on power concepts. Able to get his hips and shoulders below his target and explode upwards to break their anchor, but ability to tag with length and upper-body power on the second level without having his hips coiled/uncoiled is truly special.

Quickness: Not the quickest dude on the block, but sufficient for a player as devastating as he is in his range of influence. Keeps a balanced base and stays married to the ground, which maximizes his recovery quickness and gives him a good range of influence. Will fail to connect with jitterbug second-level defenders in the running game, but is too big to get around and still impact the play anyway.

Flexibility: Has quality bend through his knees and hips to get below his opponent's pads and win the leverage game, which, when you consider his power, makes him pretty devastating. Has some waist-bending tendencies when he panics but shows a quality ability to remain balanced across all his sets, and further coaching on his responses to various rushers should eliminate this tendency.

Balance: Great balance in deeper sets and is always patient and ready, waiting for the rusher to declare so he can latch and drive. Ability to re-anchor against power and releverage his hands back underneath contact to fight pressure with pressure is tremendous. Will waist-bend at times as a panic response to rushers who get on top of him quick.

Upper Body Strength: Hog molly! He's got cannonballs for hands and when he lands his punch from a balanced base he can literally stonewall rushers immediately on their track. Grip rarely gets broken and he can ragdoll NFL-caliber opponents with tremendous lockout of his elbows and wrists. Shocking upper body control in tight areas makes him impervious to the bull rush.

Lower Body Power: He's a daggum fire hydrant. Ability to sit on power rushes and just gobble up high-momentum and powerful rushers is elite for college, and when he gets latched onto speed rushes or inside counters, even from a recovery position, he's quickly able to get his hips activated and start driving opponents out of the play. Can fire into space out of his stance and get on top of angles with his epxlosiveness.

Violence: Nasty. Wants to finish and looks for work and opportunities to hit when he's free. Will pick you up and put you down if you come passively to him and projects well to playing in a system that will let him jump set so he can land mitts early and throw people around.

 

Round Grade: Early 1

Best Trait: Lower Body Power

Worst Trait: Flexibility

Player Comparison: Cam Robinson

 

Summary: Andrew Thomas is an elite college tackle who projects as much the same in the NFL level, as long as he's used appropriately. Thomas is far from a dancing bear and shouldn't be asked to take outside zone paths as a primary responsibility, but as a people-mover in the running game, he has as devastating and exciting a profile as recent memory affords. Thomas is a quality pass protector who handles speed rushers with aplomb and control, and further experience and coaching in the league will help him maximize his length and recruit more aggressive sets to protect him from surrendering a two-way go on an island. For teams that let him play ugly, nasty, and downhill, Thomas is a Year 1 starter with a Pro Bowl ceiling.

[BlueInCanada]

Sure it's not a hype pick like Simmons would of been, or even Wirfs, but when you draft a QB you need to protect him.

Can't have Solder/Gates getting beat by Young like a drum twice each year.

[Sephiroth]

He was my 2nd favorite tackle in the draft. Took a look at some more film of him this week and really liked what I saw. Kind of reminds me of Tyron Smith a little bit. 

[BlueInCanada]

12 minutes ago, Sephiroth said:

He was my 2nd favorite tackle in the draft. Took a look at some more film of him this week and really liked what I saw. Kind of reminds me of Tyron Smith a little bit. 

Guys a stud who can play both tackle positions.

Sure it's easy for the pundits to say "HE WAS THE 5th best OT" or some garbage but it's just because they think he's already hit his ceiling.

I'd rather have the sure NFL ready player like THomas instead of the boom of bust like Beckton.

 

[Nas]

I think our friend from Staten Island loves this pick: BPA indeed (Blackest Player Available).     Can't be mad at the pick... we've been bitching about the OL (rightfully so) since... who knows... it's been a lifetime.    This instantly makes Jones and Barkley that much better.   

[BlueInCanada]

https://www.giants.com/video/giants-draft-andrew-thomas-bob-papa-and-shaun-o-hara-break-down-the-pick

[BlueInCanada]

 

[Storm]

I will say, I like this pick for two reasons. It’s a valuable position of need. And two, and most importantly, because of Jason Garrett. The man knows good offensive line talent. More, he knows what to do with good offensive line talent.

[Storm]

1 hour ago, Nas said:

I think our friend from Staten Island loves this pick: BPA indeed (Blackest Player Available).     Can't be mad at the pick... we've been bitching about the OL (rightfully so) since... who knows... it's been a lifetime.    This instantly makes Jones and Barkley that much better.   

The extra W in his name makes him definitely not the BPA...Andre would have worked.

[BlueInCanada]

[CrazedDogs]

19 hours ago, BlueInCanada said:

 

I just watched this game. Thought his match up against Allen would be a good measure.

Allen wasn't lined up over Thomas much, and did nothing when he was. 

Totally dominating game for Thomas, at a few points late in the game he even looked bored.

[Sephiroth]

For some reason it's really hard to find pass protection film on this guy. This has a pretty good set and analysis at around 4:30. 

 

[Sephiroth]

Also, I fucking love the pick.