New York Giants OT Andrew Thomas’ former coach baffled by rookie’s performance

Former NFL offensive line coach Paul Alexander worked with New York Giants rookie tackle Andrew Thomas leading up to the draft.

Some believed offensive tackle Andrew Thomas could’ve fixed many of the New York Giants‘ hog mollie-related issues when he was taken No. 4 overall in April. Others, however, believed the Giants made a mistake with that pick and should’ve gone with someone like Tristan Wirfs (Buccaneers) or Jedrick Wills (Browns).

The latter group is now smirking. With seven games having been played, Thomas has mightily struggled and is certainly the worst of this year’s first-round tackles, to the point where his former coach is even baffled.

Former NFL offensive line coach Paul Alexander worked with Thomas leading up to the draft and couldn’t believe his eyes when witnessing his performance against the Eagles last Thursday.

“I’m going to be candid here, because I’m really upset for Andrew on this,” Alexander told Ralph Vacchiano of SNY. “What I saw [Thursday] night, I see completely different techniques than he used at Georgia. I don’t see his feet getting set. And I see his hands bouncing all over the place, like he’s punching a guy like a machine gun or something.

“When he was at Georgia, he controlled guys with his hands. So I see something completely different than I saw at Georgia. And my question is: Why are you doing different things than you did? I mean, he was the best tackle in the country. And right now it’s like, ‘Oh my God!'”

There’s no sugarcoating Thomas’ struggles. Through 401 offensive snaps, the young rookie has allowed six sacks, a mark that ties him for the most among those measured on Pro Football Focus. He’s also notched a poor 58.3 PFF grade.

It hasn’t been completely perfect for Thomas off the field either. While he hasn’t done anything detrimental, he was indeed late to a Saturday night meeting prior to the team’s Week 6 matchup with Washington, causing the Giants to start third-round rookie tackle Matt Peart over him.

I do believe patience must be implemented with Thomas though. He was originally supposed to start at right tackle before Nate Solder’s opt-out forced him to switch over to the more superior left tackle position, a difficult situation for any first-year player.

Patience can only go so far though, and Thomas needs to find success one way or another.