Giants left tackle Andrew Thomas deserves plenty of credit for offense's improvement
Giants offensive tackle Andrew Thomas during training camp on Aug. 7 in East Rutherford, N.J. Credit: Ed Murray
The Giants can credit a lot of things that led to their offensive improvement the last three weeks — among them the switch to rookie Jaxson Dart as the starting quarterback and Cam Skattebo’s physicality.
The two lit a fire under the Giants with their youthful energy, but it’s no coincidence that both have thrived just as a mainstay of the offense has found his footing.
Andrew Thomas’s left foot may not catch as many eyes as Skattebo’s backflips or Dart’s scrambling ability, but the left tackle’s ability to handle a full workload is just as important a reason the offense has clicked. He missed the spring and training camp while recovering from foot surgery.
“Big shout to AT,” Dart said. “The level that he’s been able to play at without getting really any reps in camp and really just kind of being thrown in there, it just shows what kind of player he is.”
The numbers back it up. Thomas played 28 snaps in his Week 3 debut against the Chargers but has played every offensive snap since then. In those four games, he has allowed only two pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, the second-fewest by a tackle in the league.
PFF also has Thomas with the highest pass blocking efficiency rating (99.2). It’s not surprising, given that he was a second-team All-Pro selection in 2022.
It is impressive, though, given that Thomas is coming off a Lisfranc injury. It’s one of the toughest injuries to heal from, even more so for heavier players.
In August, Thomas said he’d be dealing with lingering soreness and pain management when he returned. There also was rust from not playing since getting hurt last October against Cincinnati and not practicing with Dart until he was named the starter three weeks ago.
Despite all that, Thomas doesn’t look like a player still rounding into form.
“I’ve played a lot of ball, so I wasn’t unsure of how I would respond,” said Thomas, who played only six games last season and 10 in 2023 because of other injuries. “I would say the thing I was most worried about was just being in shape. I think that’s the hardest thing to get back.
“I definitely felt that the first game, playing all the snaps versus the Chargers. But I think I responded pretty well to that.”
His presence hasn’t just boosted the passing game. In the last three games, the Giants have rushed for 469 yards, second only to the Panthers. They also lead the NFL in carries (110) and are fourth in rushing yards per game (156.3) in that span.
Dart and Skattebo deserve credit, but Thomas also is part of that. It’s helped the rest of the line improve its play, with Dart being sacked only three times the last two games.
“When you have a guy like that out there, you want to make sure you’re matching what he’s doing,” right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said. “Especially for me, I’m trying to be just as great as him. So it’s really cool to have him back out there. Just another guy who knows what you’re going through.”
Thomas deflected any praise and spread it back to the entire line.
“It doesn’t matter how well one person is playing. It’s about all five,” he said. “And I think the cohesiveness . . . obviously, I missed a lot of time last year and missed training camp. But for us to get on the same page as quick as we did speaks a lot to those guys.”
Nevertheless, it’s difficult to ignore Thomas’ impact as a switch-flipper. The Giants had fewer than 100 rushing yards in their first two games. In both wins under Dart, they rushed for at least 160.
His importance was felt on the Giants’ final drive against the Eagles as they closed out the final 6:50 of their win. Five of their eight running plays went to Thomas’ side.
Left guard Jon Runyan Jr. believes Thomas hasn’t reached full strength.
“I only see him getting better, too,” Runyan said. “I still he’s feeling his way through this. He looks great and I’m excited to see when he’s full go. I have a feeling he hasn’t released everything yet.”
Thomas thinks so too, and he knows he has to keep building on what’s been done.
“I’m always trying to get better regardless of what stats may say,” he said. “There’s things in the first few games that I played that I want to clean up, and I’m going to do that to put my team in a good position.”
Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
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