Re-Grading the Giants' Last 5 First-Round Picks

2022, Pick No. 7 — OT Evan Neal: D

When the Giants drafted Evan Neal seventh overall in 2022, there was a lot of optimism surrounding the pick. Neal was an absolute unit during his time at Alabama and the hope was that he could bring his brand of sound protection to the NFL level.

Unfortunately, Neal hasn't come close to matching his draft day expectations and the 2023 campaign exemplified that fact. Limited to only 460 offensive snaps due to injury, the former Crimson Tide blocker surrendered 30 pressures (23 hurries, 5 hits, 2 sacks) while taking five penalties. His shortcomings were prominent to the point where he finished the year as PPF's second-worst graded offensive tackle (39.8).

What's even worse is that his unfavorable grade was even worse than his mark as a rookie (44.1).

Neal is only 23 years old, but Giants fans are already growing worried about his trajectory. Some players do take longer to develop, but Neal is making more mistakes than a top-10 pick should. There's been some talk that he could play guard going forward, so we'll see if that potential move is enough to turn his career around.

Hopefully, offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo has what it takes to get the most out of Neal in his first year with the franchise. Otherwise, it's going to look more like the Giants should've gone in another direction two years ago.