The New York Giants have persistently had one of the league’s worst offensive lines since their run to Super Bowl 46 in 2011. It should come as no surprise, then, that the team has also fallen off the cliff in multiple aspects since that 2011 season; the team has won all of 76 games in the 12 seasons that followed that second triumph over the New England Patriots.
Several players have been drafted or otherwise signed to help fix the problem, including Evan Neal, the seventh overall pick of the 2022 NFL Draft. None have exactly succeeded. Despite this, the Giants are making plans to keep the former Alabama product at Right Tackle.
Evan Neal, Right Tackle Of The Future?
The hope was that by drafting Evan Neal to pair him with Andrew Thomas, the Giants finally solved their Offensive Line issues with their bookend tackles of the future. While Thomas otherwise has become one of the league’s best at the position, Neal continues to lag behind his fellow SEC alumnus.
In these past two seasons alone, for instance, Neal has ranked as one of the league’s two worst Offensive Tackles by Pro Football Focus. While the Giants did make the playoffs in 2022, the team regressed heavily in 2023 and found themselves once again facing other problems concerning their offense. Neal did not see the field at all for the second half of the campaign, a period that saw the Giants turn their 2-8 start into winning four of their final seven contests.
The plan remains that once Evan Neal is fully ready, he will return to his status as the team’s Right Tackle, per SNY’s Connor Hughes. Hughes also suggests that the only way Neal will be brought inside to play Guard is if his struggles continue.
What Impact Might New Faces Have On Evan Neal?
Early on in the 2023-24 Offseason, the Giants made the move to bring in Carmen Bricillo from the Las Vegas Raiders, to fulfill the same duties as Offensive Line coach. Once the legal tampering period of Free Agency opened, one of Bricillo’s former players reunited with his coach, as Jermaine Elumunor joined the Giants on a two-year deal. This was just one of the two big moves the team made on the front lines, as the team also brought in Jon Runyan.
Bricillo guided the Raiders to a top 10-rated Offensive Line in 2023, which aided in turning their season around from a 3-5 start to an 8-9 finish. Elumunor’s part in helping Josh Jacobs win the 2022 NFL rushing title, which was also made possible by Bricillo’s coaching, would have to take Guard duties with the team planning to keep Neal at Right Tackle.
Both remain risky ventures considering Neal’s continued risk of struggles and Elumunor’s limited history at the Guard position.
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