Alexander Wilson
The NY Giants can call this a fresh start for Evan Neal, but third-team reps in May don’t feel like a fresh start. They feel like a warning label.
Neal spent most of the latest open OTA working at right guard with the third-team offensive line, with one second-team snap at left guard mixed in through the practice alignment. Spring reps don’t decide a roster battle, but they usually tell you where the climb begins.
The first-team line, with Andrew Thomas being managed, featured Marcus Mbow, Jon Runyan, John Michael Schmitz, Francis Mauigoa, and Jermaine Eluemunor. Daniel Faalele worked with the second group. Neal, the former No. 7 overall pick, opened behind both units.
The Giants are not waiting around
John Harbaugh gave Neal another shot, and I understand the logic. The contract is cheap, the physical traits once made him a top-10 pick, and a move inside to guard still makes more sense than trying to revive him at tackle.
But the Giants didn’t build this offensive line room like a team waiting for a four-year reclamation project to suddenly click. Mauigoa was brought in for power. Faalele gives them massive interior size. Runyan remains a veteran piece. Joshua Ezeudu and Aaron Stinnie are still around as depth options. Neal has to win reps, not inherit them.
His contract makes the whole thing easy for the Giants. He signed a one-year, $1.215 million deal with a $1.075 million cap hit and no dead money if they move on. A former premium pick becoming a no-risk flyer is a harsh sentence, but that is where his Giants career has landed.
The camp battle already looks uncomfortable
The frustrating part is that Neal still looks like an offensive lineman an NFL staff should want to fix. He’s huge, powerful, and young enough that the idea isn’t completely dead. Then the practice alignment shows up, and the optimism has to take a seat.
Third-team work doesn’t mean Neal is finished. It means he has to climb, and he has to do it fast. The Giants are trying to become more physical up front, not more patient for the sake of being polite.
If Neal forces his way into the second-team mix by camp, this becomes a real battle. If he stays where he was on Thursday, the Giants may already be telling us the answer before the pads even come on.
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