One of the goals for incoming general manager Joe Schoen this past offseason was to finally build a formidable offensive line.
2020 first-round draft pick Andrew Thomas was the only piece in place at left tackle. He became the building block for Schoen, who added another massive tackle, Evan Neal, in this year’s draft and has filled in the interior line with a mixture of capable veterans and rookies.
Still, Thomas does not believe the line is out of the woods yet. They experienced a spate of injuries this summer and still have some continuity issues to iron out.
“Honestly, I still think we have a long way to go,” said Thomas. “Like we talked about, we got some guys down. We’ll see after the official cuts who is on the roster and what we have. We’re working every day to get better to be explosive on the offensive side of the ball.”
Thomas was named one of the team’s offensive captains on Tuesday along with quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley.
“It’s definitely an honor when your teammates vote you to be one of the leaders on the team,” Thomas said. “I don’t think it stops there. I’m working every day to be a better leader, to be a better player — not just for the offensive line but for the whole team.”
Thomas pretty much expected he would be thrust into a leadership role, being both a high draft pick and identified as a building block by the organization.
“At the end of last season, in some of my exit meetings the biggest thing for me was to take the leadership role,” he said. “A lot of times, I was focused on myself getting better — going through the struggles. The next thing for me is to be more vocal, lead by example and help the team in any way I can.”
