The New York Giants came in hot for their first week. Capping off a 21-20 win against the Titans was huge for the team as it was their first season opener win in six years. To add to the list, offensive tackle Andrew Thomas earned the third highest overall PFF grade among offensive tackles in the league for week one.

PFF is a grading system that is used to evaluate players in the NFL and NCAA after each game. It mainly focuses on the player’s contribution to the execution of any given play. It is an effective system to use when evaluating players because it takes a larger approach rather than simply highlighting the biggest plays of the game.

The grading scale ranges from negative two to positive two spaced out in increments of .5. A player would receive a zero if the play is average but it is important to note that a score of such is also valuable. The reason for this is because it proves that a player is doing their job as expected.

PFF rubrics are different for each position. An offensive tackle cannot be graded on the same scale as a wide receiver. It would be impossible to have such a rubric. To ensure validity within the grading, professional analysts calculate the players grade after each game.

After being placed in Pro Football Focus’s top 101 players list and ranking at number 80 based on his performance last season, Thomas’s start this past Sunday has validated him as a strong player.

With 61 offensive snaps played by the end of week one, Thomas secured an overall player grade of 79.9. Only two offensive tackles topped him. Coming in second is Brian O’Neil of the Minnesota Vikings with a PFF of 80.6 and in first is Laremy Tunsil of the Huston Texans with a PFF of 82.4.

Thomas himself not only being 23 but also being drafted in 2020 is fairly new to the team and to the major leagues. With an outstanding performance last season and a strong start to this season who is to say where he is headed.