“I think if you asked around the league how everybody saw those tackles, you'd get a bunch of different opinions. But, he’s a versatile guy who made 40 career starts at three positions in the SEC.”
That was Giants GM Joe Schoen’s take on the selection of Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal at No. 7, who was rated as either 1 of 1A on the Big Blue draft board at the position.
Neal knew the Giants had two picks in the Top 7 and would be looking at offensive tackle with one of them, but wasn’t quite sure how everything would shake out – even whole the team was sitting on the clock at No. 5, with Kayvon Thibodeaux, perhaps the best edge rusher in the draft, also still sitting there.
“I was happy for Kayvon. I clapped for him. It's a lot of uncertainty but I just controlling the things that I can control,” Neal said. “I'm just thankful they gave me an opportunity (at No. 7) and I'm going to make the most of it.”
The Panthers took a tackle, NC State’s Ikhe Ekponu, at six, and shortly after, Neal got the call that he was indeed headed to New York. He’s set to work at right tackle, according to the Giants’ brass, which he hasn’t played since 2020, but he believes he’s ready, willing, and capable to be a two-way anchor on the right side opposite Andrew Thomas.
“I'm comfortable at all the tackle spots for sure, and I feel like I'm good at both (run blocking and pass blocking), honestly,” he said. “I played well and I played at a high level at both, just turn on the film. That should give you your answer.”
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And, he noted, one thing you won’t see on tape is any hint of a possible hip issue, as was rumored pre-draft, because there’s nothing to that.
“I was kind of shocked a little bit (about hearing health rumors), but at the end of the day I just control my controllables,” he said. “I can't control about the information that leaks out, but I played 41 games at Alabama, I didn't miss a game, I didn't miss a snap, I only missed one game due to COVID, so that's your answer there.”
That’s pretty much in line with what GM Joe Schoen said late Thursday night, too.
“A lot of times, team share medical grades, and only eight percent I think had issues with anything with Evan,” Schoen said. “I think it was a rumor out there, but again, he missed one game because of COVID and that’s it.
Our medical staff did a great job and went through all that before any of the concerns came out. His play history backs that up.”
One thing Neal will have to get used to, though, is a little bit of culture shock, as he describes himself as a laid-back country boy (he grew up in Okeechobee, Florida, in a more rural part of south-central Florida), so going from Okeechobee to Tuscaloosa to now NYC will be a bit of an adjustment.
“I'm kind of more of an introverted extrovert by nature, more reserved, quiet, but just talk to me, I'm a people person, definitely a cool guy,” he laughed. “A little bit of a culture shock, man, but I'm excited. I'm a country boy, but at the end of the day, I know how to fit in well with the city, so I'm just excited.”
He says that Xavier McKinney can vouch, as he got a chance to “chop it up” with the fellow Crimson Tide alum when he was on his recruiting visit to Alabama, but one thing is for sure: given his attitude, and the Alabama pedigree, Neal wants Big Blue’s fans to know they’re getting a winner.
“The Giants are going to get a guy that is going to come in every day and work his hardest to be the best that he can be and just ultimately help the organization win.”
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