Giants optimistic about ‘power broker’ Evan Neal’s transition to guard

Can the 2022 No. 7 overall pick win a starting job?

The New York Giants drafted Evan Neal No. 7 overall in 2022 to be their right tackle, to be a bookend anchor of their offensive line with left tackle Andrew Thomas.

That has not worked. So, after three years of poor performance and injury the Giants are moving to Plan B with Neal. They are moving him to guard to see if they can salvage some value from Neal, who turns 25 this season and is in the final year of his four-year rookie contract.

Assistant general manager Brandon Brown explained on Thursday why the Giants are optimistic about Neal’s chance to help them at guard.

“I think when you look at the job description in our system for the guard, can he create movement at the line of scrimmage? Can he keep the interior firm in pass protection? We’ve seen Evan do it before,” Brown said. “We need the flashes to be consistent.”

Neal has in the past been resistant to moving inside, even though he did play guard for one season in college at Alabama. With the Giants having declined his fifth-year option and perhaps recognizing that he needs to do something to jump start his stalled career, Neal has accepted the change.

“He’s been fully bought in with the move,” Brown said. “Just knowing that leaning on your strengths, there are not that many men that are as big as he is inside at guard and playing with better balance. Carm [Bricillo] and James [Ferentz] have been working with him throughout this spring. Evan is putting in his work.

“We’re excited to see what he shows when the pads come on in training camp. Excited to see that he has the physical tools and skill set to transition inside. We just need to see it consistently.”

At a listed 6-foot-7, 340 pounds, Neal is taller than most guards.

“He’s a big man,” Brown said. “When you look at the prototype size, you can look throughout the league, offensive lines like Baltimore, etc. There are guys, some of the guys in Philly, that are larger than typical prototype.

“What is the job description and the technique? If you’re asking him to pull out in space and do a lot of redirecting at the second level, that is not his game. He’s a power broker. He’s a guy that can create movement. He’s a guy that can absorb power, anchor in pass protection. We have to keep improving the technique, work on his hand usage and his balance.”

The belief heading into OTAs was that Neal would challenge Greg Van Roten for the right guard job. That may yet be the case, but in the two practices media has had access to Neal has worked at left guard.

Neal’s progress, and whether he ultimately wins a starting guard job, will be one of the stories of the summer once the Giants reach training camp.