The Giants could've taken any of the "Big Four" offensive tackles in the 2020 NFL Draft, with all of them on the board when they chose at No. 4 overall. But when GM Dave Gettleman handed in his ticket, it read Georgia OT Andrew Thomas.
He explained on Thursday night why Thomas stood out among the rest.
"We spent a lot of time on this and we want to fix this offensive line once and for all," Gettleman began his conference call with the media. "Andrew certainly has a hell of a pedigree. He played against some real quality defensive ends in his college career. We spent a lot of time with him off the field as well. We spoke to him in Indianapolis. We're ready for him to make this jump."
Giants new head coach Joe Judge was also on the call to give his take on Thomas.
"Very talented draft class on the offensive line," he said. "This is definitely one where he's going to come in and help us."
Judge added that Thomas has the "right demeanor" and "right makeup," which is what the former Patriots special teams coach mentioned he was looking for in his players when he was introduced to the media a few months back.
Thomas played both left and right tackle during his time with Georgia, and both Gettleman and Judge alluded to his being able to block some of the best pass rushers in the country in the SEC. Gettleman specifically pointed at Jaguars DE Josh Allen, who went No. 7 overall out of Kentucky in last year's draft.
The two also pointed at Thomas' length as something they loved about him. That will certainly help him in the pass-blocking game for Daniel Jones, last year's first-rounder for the Giants. Also, Saquon Barkley should have a good time running behind him no matter what side he's on.
And that's what Gettleman wanted for his team.
"Once you draft a quarterback, you get guys in front of him that keep him upright," he said. "This is an important piece for us for Daniel's development and for Saquon as well."