Through eight weeks of the NFL regular season, New York Giants left tackle Andrew Thomas is among the best players in football. He’s playing at an All-Pro level, should also be heading to the Pro Bowl and is currently the highest-graded tackle in the league.
It’s been a remarkable turnaround for Thomas, who some were calling a bust as recently as a year and a half ago.
Asked about Thomas on Monday, quarterback Daniel Jones gave one of the most insightful, impassioned and emotional answers of his entire career.
“He’s playing at an unbelievable level. I think when you compare him to guys across the league, I think he’s the best. If not, he’s certainly in that top two or there,” Jones said. “He’s playing at an unbelievable level and that’s huge for us on offense. It’s huge for me as a quarterback and being able to count on him playing at that level down after down, game after game.
“He’s been huge for us. He deserves a lot of credit, certainly. It’s no surprise to us, he comes to work every day. I think even last year he was playing at a really high level. He had some injury stuff; he was going in and out a little bit and that made it tough on him. He’s a heck of a player for sure.”
Jones and the Giants not only love how Thomas is playing, they appreciate his focus. He hasn’t given any thought to being an All-Pro of booking a trip to the Pro Bowl. Rather, he’s solely concentrated on winning.
“I would say honestly the biggest thing for me is winning,” Thomas said. “As long as the team is winning, I’m feeling good — especially if I’m doing a good job contributing. I think all of the individual accolades come if you’re winning, you’re playing well. So, I just try to focus on getting better each day and I think those things come later on.”
Thomas, humble like his quarterback, also wasn’t willing to accept any credit for the team winning.
“That’s the thing about the offensive line, we do a lot of the dirty work. It’s not just me it’s all of the guys up front, the tight ends, receivers, quarterback, everybody buys into the process,” he said. “We’re working hard just to be physical in the run game, try to protect, try to be explosive on the offensive side of the ball.”
That’s an All-Pro player being an All-Pro teammate.
