New York Giants: Offensive line feeling the 'pressure' of protecting Daniel Jones

The New York Giants made a bevy of moves this offseason to improve their offense. With Daniel Jones entering his third season in the NFL, the team’s front office is attempting to give him every chance to succeed.

While he has new weapons like Kenny Golladay, Kyle Rudolph and Kadarius Toney, the team still features one glaring weakness. Their bugaboo since the Eli Manning days has been their offensive line, and they neglected to address it this offseason.

Now, the unit is beginning to feel their feet hit the fire prior to the start of the season.

“There’s definitely pressure,” Giants tackle Andrew Thomas said, via NJ.com. “I put pressure on myself. I know I’ve been given this role. And I worked hard to be here. So I have to step up and do what I have to do.”

Thomas, the fourth-overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Georgia, had an uneven rookie season. While the beginning of his season brought up memories of failed Giants’ bust Ereck Flowers, the former Bulldog improved as the season progressed.

However, in his first chance of the season to protect Jones against the Patriots last night, the old Thomas came to play. While it was just the preseason, he still allowed 1.5 sacks, was called for a hold and gave up several more QB hits.

With the season so close, the improvements the Giants made at the skill positions won’t matter if their offensive line can’t block for them. Moreover, Thomas took accountability, saying he’s trying to improve as much as he can.

“I think I made improvements [this offseason], but there are a lot of things I still need to work on,” he said. “I’m trying to fix those things.”

“He’s going to be a better player.”

While Thomas was the first tackle drafted in 2020, he hasn’t lived up to his billing since then. Unfortunately, his counterparts are making the Giants look foolish for selecting the former Bulldog over the rest of the crop.

Following Thomas, the Cleveland Browns selected Jedrick Wills, who helped the Browns dominate on the ground. Afterwards, the New York Jets selected Mekhi Becton, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had Tristan Wirfs fall into their laps.

Now, Becton looks like he could be one of the league’s best tackles if he can stay healthy. On the other hand, Wirfs had a phenomenal rookie season, keeping Tom Brady upright and winning the Super Bowl.

Still, Giants coach Joe Judge believes in Thomas’ abilities.

“I think overall he’s done a solid job for us,” Judge said. “He’s going to be a better player a month from now, two months from now, at the end of the season.”

Hopefully Andrew Thomas can continue to improve, or Daniel Jones and the New York Giants season will once again be derailed by subpar offensive line play.