Evan Neal Focused on 'Being the Player I Know I Can Be' for Giants in 2025

Evan Neal was a standout player at Alabama, receiving All-SEC and All-America honors during a successful college career. His fortunes have not been the same at the NFL level. As a top prospect in the 2022 NFL Draft, he went to the New York Giants seventh overall and has since struggled.

Those struggles caused the Giants to decline his fifth-year option this spring and switch him from tackle to guard after last season. The position change is Neal's last big chance to make an impact as a Giant, but he feels he has what it takes.

"I still have an opportunity in this league and I'm grateful for that," Neal said in a story shared Tuesday by The Morning Call. "I’m just focused on getting better each year, being the player that I know I can be. I appreciate the Giants organization for continuing to believe in me and giving me an opportunity to showcase my skill set."

Neal played at guard for a year in college, protecting Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones in 2019 as a freshman. In his estimation, the main adjustment with the swap is timing. The NFL is a different game than college football, so changing from guard to tackle or vice versa is harder in the pros.

"At tackle they talk about ‘patience, patience,’ but at guard you’ve kind of got to get on a guy right now. The fight starts a bit earlier, and just in terms of picking up blitzes and things of that nature, a lot of times it happens just a bit quicker," he said.

Head coach Brian Daboll, a former Alabama offensive coordinator, has been impressed with Neal's efforts to improve himself this offseason. According to Daboll, Neal has spent extra time with coaches to continue to hone his craft.

"He's been a true pro about it," Daboll said. "It’ll be good to see how it looks in the preseason when we can finish blocks.” Neal has been through injuries in addition to his difficulties at tackle, but he and the Giants believe this change is his best shot at success going forward.