Versatility has been the name of the game this offseason with all of the New York Giants’ offensive line moves, all the way up to drafting Evan Neal, who can play either tackle spot and also guard, in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft Thursday night.
They did it again in Round 3 with Joshua Ezeudu, who played multiple positions on the same drive at times last year at North Carolina.
“That's just what happened based on whatever our team needed. If our team needed a left guard, then I would move to left guard. If we were struggling at tackle, I would move out to tackle,” Ezeudu explained when he met the media on Friday night.
From the sound of it, the Giants are looking at him as a Swiss Army Knife of sorts, too.
“He's got guard-tackle flex. I'm not sure, not going to say exactly where we're going to start him, but we like the versatility that he can play guard, he can play tackle, compete to start probably inside, with outside flex,” GM Joe Schoen said late Friday night.
Fine by Ezeudu, who’s willing to do whatever it takes for Big Blue.
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“I will play anything the team needs me to play. I'm a team player. I just can't wait to get there and get to work,” Ezeudu said.
Ezeudu met offensive line coach Bobby Johnson prior to UNC’s Pro Day and saw him again there, so Johnson knew what he would be getting if Ezeudu became a Giant. Schoen also saw Ezeudu play live twice in 2021, so he knows what he saw, too.
“It’s rare,” Schoen said of Ezeudu’s skill set. “He’s a big man, and it’s impressive he could play multiple spots, not only week-to-week, but within a game, within drives. He’s an outstanding kid.”
Wherever Ezeudu ends up playing on the line, he’s just blessed to have been selected among those names called Friday night.
“I would say for your name to be called is always a surprise. Everybody expects it to happen, but until it actually happens, it actually kind of shocks you. So, yes, it was a big surprise, but at the end of the day, I just thank God for everything. It was very surreal,” he said. “Like you think about it so much, but until it actually happens, it kind of shocks you. I was speechless. I didn't know what type of emotions I had, then as soon as I heard my name being called, I let it all out. It was surreal.”
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And now, he’s ready for the hard part of the journey.
“It took a lot of hard work to get here, but the hard work is still not done though.”
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