Giants’ Andrew Thomas looks to raise game even more

He is just 25 years old, so it is forcing a narrative to suggest Andrew Thomas is a grizzled veteran presence around the Giants’ offensive line.

Yes, Thomas is the longest-tenured member of that group as far as service to the team, and he is far and away the most accomplished player up-front.

In some ways it seems as if Thomas just got here, and yet he is in his fifth Giants training camp and squarely entering the prime of his career.

“Yeah, I would say it flies by,’’ Thomas said. “I remember being a rookie. I remember COVID, just the struggles and everything. But it’s made me who I am today, and I’m taking the leadership role on and trying to do the best I can to bring guys along with me.’’

The guys need Thomas, desperately, to lead the way.

Last season was a football atrocity along the offensive line, with the oft-rotating unit giving up a franchise-record 85 sacks — the second-most allowed in a season in NFL history.

Thomas, according to Pro Football Focus, was responsible for four of those sacks in 376 pass-block snaps.

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He never was quite right after he suffered a significant hamstring injury while pursuing a blocked field-goal return in the season-opening, 40-0 loss to the Cowboys.

He missed the next seven games, and the Giants’ offensive line became a train wreck without him.

By the time he returned in Week 9, the Giants were 2-6 and all the positive buzz from the surprising 2022 playoff team was replaced by a feeling of “here we go again.’’

It is a new year, and Thomas seems energized.

He poured perspiration after a humid Day 1 of training camp and looks to be in fine shape.

“I’m feeling great,’’ he said. “Obviously, I had the hamstring last year, but I feel really well. Doing a lot of rehab stuff, a lot of Nordics and stuff like that, just to build that strength up, but I feel pretty good. I won the competition this year for the most body fat loss and stuff like that, building muscles, so I’ve been doing a good job.’’

It has been a steady ascension for Thomas.

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He was far from an immediate star, and his rookie year was filled with learning, growing pains and whispers around the league that the Giants erred in making him the No. 4-overall selection (the first offensive lineman) in the 2020 draft — ahead of Jedrick Wills Jr., Mekhi Becton and Tristan Wirfs.

Thomas at the time declared, “I run my own race,’’ and indeed he has. By 2022, he inflated his PFF grade to 89.1 (it was 62.4 and 79.8 his first two years, respectively) and was named second-team All Pro.

Heading into the 2023 season, PFF rated Thomas as the NFL’s fourth-best tackle — behind just Trent Williams, Lane Johnson and Laremy Tunsil.

The new regime of general manager Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll inherited Thomas, and it took only one season to convince them that the uber-mature, all-business youngster is a keeper.

Schoen last July handed Thomas a five-year contract extension worth $117.5 million, with what at the time was an NFL-record $67 million guaranteed to an offensive lineman.

Schoen, explaining the megadeal, said Thomas “played at a high level. He’s our type of guy.”

Thomas is under contract through the 2029 season, which feels like a lifetime from now.

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Thomas’ standing took a bit of a hit last season, and he wants to return his name to the top-left-tackle discussion. To get there, he understands what he must do.

“I would say the finer details, just when it comes to pass pro[tection], my set, my approach,’’ Thomas said. “Then I think a lot of it is just how I take care of my body, all the rehab stuff, prehab, my diet, all those things, and I’ve been doing a better job of honing in, just trying to make sure I can be at my best. I think when I’m at my best, I’m one of the best.’’

There is yet another voice for Thomas to heed.

Carmen Bricillo is the fifth offensive line coach in five years for Thomas, a ridiculous lack of continuity.

There was Marc Colombo, Dave DeGuglielmo, Rob Sale and Bobby Johnson.

Bricillo is tasked with turning last year’s slop into this year’s feast.

The team signed two veterans, Jon Runyan Jr. and Jermaine Eluemunor, to fill starting roles. John Michael Schmitz had an uneven rookie year at center, but he figures to improve in Year 2.

If the troublesome right tackle spot (Evan Neal or Eluemunor if Neal can’t hack it) can be solved, there is the makings of a solid five-man line.

“I would say we have a lot of new faces, obviously,’’ Thomas said. “A new O-line coach, so that’s different, but I think we’ve added some veteran guys to the group, so I think we have a little bit more experience in the room. And then just for me personally, want to stay healthy and try to take it up a notch this year with my play and my leadership.’’

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