Thomas’ selection at No. 4 in NFL Draft gives Pittman another sales tool

When the New York Giants selected Georgia offensive tackle Andrew Thomas at No. 4 in Thursday night’s draft it didn’t take his position coach, Sam Pittman, long to jump in with congratulations.

Congratulations to Andrew Thomas. Such a great young man and will represent the NY Giants on and off the field. #4 #firstolinemantaken

— Coach Sam Pittman (@CoachSamPittman) April 24, 2020

Thomas, a surprise selection at that spot. ESPN’s Mel Kiper had him a little lower of the tackles but obviously the Giants saw something.

For Pittman, though, it’s another valuable recruiting tool at Arkansas.

Few other offensive line coaches have put players so high in the NFL and Thomas keeps that number going.

LSU’s Joe Burrow was chosen first by Cincinnati, then Chase Young from Ohio State to the Redskins and another Buckeye, cornerback Jeff Okudah, went third to Detroit.

Interestingly, all three were teammates for a year at Ohio State.

After Thomas, Miami chose Alabama quarterback Tua Tagavola fifth.

The difference in salary from Burrow at No. 1 to Tagavola is an average of $1 million a year and $6 million over the course of the contract. NFL rookie contracts are fixed on a salary cap scale for the first four years.

He will actually make more than Thomas because Florida has no state income tax as opposed to New York.