'Way-Too-Early' Mock Draft Raises an Interesting Scenario

The Case Against

Renner, in his analysis, mentioned Seaton as a projected right tackle, completely forgetting/ignoring that the Giants just re-signed Jermaine Eluemunor for three years, with the 2026 and 2027 seasons of his contract having guaranteed money.

They also drafted Francis Mauigoa tenth overall this year. Mauigoa, who will begin his NFL career at right guard, played right tackle in college, which would probably put him first in line when the day comes that fan-favorite Eluemunor is no longer a Giant.

If Thomas were, for whatever reason, to not be able to play, the Giants would probably insert second-year man Marcus Mbow at left tackle.

Whether Mbow is the long-term answer is another story, as it’s too soon to make that call, but it’s certainly a consideration given that Mbow played the spot when Thomas missed the last few games of last season, the then-rookie holding his own.  

Seaton, meanwhile, jus transferred from Colorado to LSU where he will have two years of eligibility left. The SEC tends to be a more challenging conference, so it remains to be seen if Seaton has the same or better success than he had with the Buffaloes.

The Case For

Andrew Thomas had a rocky 2020 rookie season in which he allowed 58 pressures and eight sacks, the pressures being the second most allowed by an offensive tackle that season.  

Since 2021, Thomas has morphed into the Giants’ best offensive lineman, and it hasn’t been close. From 2021 through 2025, he’s allowed just 15 sacks and 87 pressures in 2,917 pass blocking snaps.  

With the exception of 2022, Thomas has missed parts of the season with lower-body injuries. From 2023 onward, he appeared in 29 of the 51 games played, missing 11 games in 2024 with a season-ending foot injury.

While there is hope that Thomas’s injury woes are behind him, it’s interesting to note that the guaranteed money in his contract runs out after this year, leaving him with three years' worth of roster bonuses for the duration of his deal.

Clearly, the Giants would rather have Thomas finish out his deal and pay the roster bonuses and per-game bonuses that are part of the back end.

But should another lower-body injury develop that costs him significant playing time, it wouldn’t be so far-fetched for the team to start thinking about the future at left tackle, even if the pick made in this instance is way too premature.

The Bottom Line

It’s not only too early to be thinking about who the Giants or any team might draft next year, given that we don’t even know the order or if some of the underclassmen represented in Renner’s mock draft will even declare, but it’s also too premature to say if Thomas is nearing the end.

It’s certainly possible that, given the change in the conditioning program and the addition of new specialists whose jobs are to keep players healthy, Thomas’s injury woes will finally be a thing of the past.

That would be the best-case scenario for a Giants team that is quite a different offense without its rock in the lineup.

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