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While the Giants talked about the possibility of trading out of the fourth overall pick over the course of the pre-draft process, they stayed put and took former Georgia tackle Andrew Thomas to kick off their 2020 draft.

The offensive line has been a weak spot for the team for several years and General Manager Dave Gettleman told reporters that taking Thomas was part of a move to fix the unit “once and for all.” Doing so would be a boost to the team’s last two first-round picks — quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley — along with the rest of the offense.

Head coach Joe Judge discussed that aspect of the move and even mentioned Jones by name for the first time since being hired in January as he talked about the impact Thomas can have on the team.

“I think this is going to be a tremendous move right now to help Daniel play more confident back there, not that he needs that, but he can sit back and be protected and we’ve got to go ahead and be more stiff,” Judge said. “I talk all of the time, you have to run the ball, you have to stop the run, you have to cover kicks, so we’ve got to add to our run blocking as well to give ourselves a chance to get going on the ground.”

There are questions to answer about what Thomas’ arrival will mean for Nate Solder and the overall makeup of the line, but it’s hard to imagine the rookie will be on the bench when the Giants take the field for Judge’s first game as their head coach.