The New York Giants have tried everything to fix their offensive line over the last several years. Unfortunately, nothing has seemed to work, with top draft picks failing to live up to expectations, and crucial free-agent signings failing to stay healthy.
One of the Giants’ most egregious misfortunes upfront has been their swing and miss in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. They selected right tackle Evan Neal No. 7 overall in that draft and have been met with nothing but disappointment in that investment.
Evan Neal has struggled to live up to the hype of his draft stock
Neal has been among the worst offensive linemen in the NFL over the past two years. His rookie season was a disaster that ended in injury and his second season was the exact same. Through two seasons, Neal surrendered 68 pressures and nine sacks with 12 penalties on 762 pass-blocking snaps. But upon his return to the starting lineup this season, Neal has looked like a new and improved version of himself.
Neal has turned things around in recent weeks
The Giants placed Neal back in the starting lineup in Week 10 against the Carolina Panthers after he had missed the summer with an ankle injury and started the regular season on the bench. He shocked everyone in that game, looking like not just a solid player, but the best lineman on the field. He finished the contest with an 80.6 overall Pro Football Focus grade, ranking fourth among all players at the position. His 93.4 run-blocking grade ranked second at the position. Neal surrendered just one pressure across 42 pass-blocking snaps in the game.
According to Pro Football Focus, Neal has allowed pressure on 5.7% of pass plays this season. This is by far the best rate of his career with his previous best being 10.1% when Neal was a rookie in 2022.
Neal has been on the field for 345 snaps this season. On 244 pass-blocking snaps, he has surrendered only 12 pressures and two sacks with two penalties. His 67.4 overall PFF grade is by far the best mark of his career. Neal has an 86.8 PFF run-blocking grade as well, which ranks among the best offensive tackles in the NFL. Neal has seemingly turned a corner this season after taking some time off to heal and grow as a player.
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Could the Giants rely on Neal in 2025?
Despite his improved play of late, it would still be difficult for the Giants to bank on Neal being one of their five starters in 2025. Even though he is playing better, it’s a small sample size of solid games compared to an overwhelming number of poor performances that earned Neal the “bust” label in the first place.
However, Neal was a candidate for release in the offseason earlier this year. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. At the very least, the former first-round pick is proving to have some sort of talent yet to be unlocked. Perhaps he could be a solid depth piece or swing tackle next season with the upside to continue to grow and eventually become a starter.
