Giants are making former first round pick change positions in a Hail Mary attempt to help save his career in New York

The Evan Neal experience with the New York Giants hasn’t exactly gone to plan. The Giants made Neal one of the faces of their first draft class under Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll — selecting the former Alabama offensive tackle with the seventh overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. And now, with Neal set to enter into the final year of his rookie contract, the Giants are making one last Hail Mary effort to save his career in New York.

Neal is set to kick inside and play guard for the first time in his NFL career in 2025. The move has long been speculated upon but Neal is officially set to undertake the chore this summer. And, despite the early career frustrations, there may be some reason for hope that Neal will not only make the change but could possibly be a contributor — or a starter.

His competition this upcoming season to play at right guard will include 2025 fifth-round draft choice Marcus Mbow and 35-year old veteran guard Greg Van Roten. Van Roten commandeered the right guard spot in 2024 but lost some of his shine with the Giants after a highly successful 2023 campaign in Las Vegas with the Raiders.

The move for Neal may feel like a bit of a desperate attempt from the Giants — but there’s more than one recent example of a super-sized tackle who has kicked inside and revived his career. One such player, Ereck Flowers, even got his NFL start in New York with the Giants as a top-10 overall pick.

Mekhi Becton also started his career as a first-round pick in New York, albeit with the Jets. He found success last season in Philadelphia while playing inside at right guard before signing a $10 million contract with the Los Angeles Chargers. Flowers, too, cashed in after a move to guard — signing a 3-year, $30 million contract with the Miami Dolphins in 2020.

This decision allows Neal, who has been most impactful as a people-mover in the run game, to lean further into his strengths and be protected from defenders isolating him in space. Neal’s limitations as a tackle are amplified while having more space to cover, where his short area agility and trust in his ability to mirror in space cause his balance to break down too often.

This is not guaranteed to be a fruitful experiment for the Giants. But in a do or die season in 2025 for New York’s braintrust, having one of their first draft picks sit as a reserve tackle doesn’t necessarily help the cause. This is an all-hands on deck season in New York with jobs on the line — and Neal’s future hangs in the balance, too. The Giants already chose not to exercise his fifth-year option, meaning this is potentially Neal’s last stand. He may as well go out swinging and give himself every opportunity to show appeal not just to New York, but potential new homes for 2026, too.