#Giants’ Andrew Thomas faces uphill climb to be ready amid pandemic

Of all the years for the Giants to inject youth into their offensive line.

They will find a place for rookie Andrew Thomas, the No. 4 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, at left or right tackle. They will see if Nick Gates, a 24-year-old with three career NFL starts, can fill a void by transitioning to center. They will see what they have in another rookie, Shane Lemieux, possibly as a center prospect, definitely as a reserve guard. They will develop rookie tackle Matt Peart, a third-round pick with wonderful physical gifts yet in need of refinement.

From a strict football sense, building an offensive line amid the restrictions inherent in a pandemic is not going to be easy and might be darn-near unrealistic.

“I explained to one of my clients, ‘It’s not going to happen anymore — you can’t walk into an NFL training camp on Aug. 1 as an offensive lineman and start for an NFL team, it’s just impossible,’ ’’ an NFL player agent representing several offensive linemen told The Post.

The Giants will try to buck that ominous warning. They have no choice. They did not take Thomas to have him sit and learn for a year. Of course, as new head coach Joe Judge insists, there will be battles for roles at every position, but if Thomas, given his pedigree, does not rise above the modest competition at the tackle spots to earn a starting job, something has gone wrong. Veteran Cam Fleming, signed in free agency, is the only other legitimate option, and he was brought in to be a swing tackle, not a savior.

Ask any coaching staff which position group needs the most work together and offensive line will be the answer most every time. Former Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi used to describe it as five fingers on a hand working together to form a fist. All five players must be in lockstep and the only way to gain that familiarity is by repetition. This was nonexistent this spring and early summer, unless you want to consider logging onto Zoom sessions together a form of repetition.

The organized team activities are especially beneficial to offensive lines incorporating new players into the lineup. Thomas had none of those. It could be three weeks into his first pro camp before Thomas dons shoulder pads and, given the slow ramp-up in activity leading up to the season, the first real NFL hits Thomas takes and gives could come on Sept. 14 in his debut against the Steelers.

The returning starters — Nate Solder, Will Hernandez and Kevin Zeitler — will have to grow accustomed to the instruction style of Marc Colombo, the new offensive line coach. Thomas will have to learn the ropes lining up alongside Zeitler (if Thomas starts out at right tackle) or Hernandez (if Thomas starts out on the left side).

Thomas last played right tackle as a true freshman at Georgia and that is where he is expected to land at the beginning of his Giants career.

“He’ll have to knock the rust off,’’ Dan Shonka, general manager and national scout for Ourlads’ Scouting Services, told The Post. “That’s one bad thing about not having OTAs. The steps are different when you go left to right, right to left, you’re in a different stance but he’s smart enough and athletic enough to make the switch.’’

The switch, if it indeed is made, will be more difficult for Thomas, given the absence of any preseason games.

“First you need to learn the playbook, which is in a different language than you even know,’’ the player agent said, recounting a conversation he had with one of his offensive line draft prospects. “And then everything else has to come into play.

“Now these five [rookie] offensive tackles who are considered bona fide, walk-in Day 1 starters, Pro Bowl quality players, now they can’t walk in and start, probably. Depending on the team, you starting a left tackle that’s played a few weeks of practice in the NFL to protect Baker Mayfield’s back?’’

Or, in the case of the Giants, a rookie tasked with protecting Daniel Jones?

“It’s a long process of becoming good in the NFL and hopefully Colombo and the rest of these coaches can get these guys going quick,’’ former Giants guard Rich Seubert said. “Especially with a limited offseason.’’

It already has, and will continue to be, the most limiting offseason ever for a rookie offensive tackle. Andrew Thomas has his work cut out for him.