Offensive line struggles have held the New York Giants’ offense back for years. It feels like the Giants have tried everything to fix their offensive line. However, there is one move they have yet to attempt.
The Giants have yet to give Evan Neal a chance at guard
The Giants have expressed resistance over the last year to the idea of moving former first-round pick Evan Neal inside to guard. The 24-year-old has struggled immensely at right tackle through the first three seasons of his career with many fans and analysts alike pleading to the G-Men to transition him to the interior.
The 6-foot-7, 340-pound tackle has been criticized for having slow feet and a lack of agility in space — weaknesses that could potentially be masked at the guard position, but are overexposed on the edge at tackle. This idea has been brought up time and time again, however, when asked about the possibility of moving Neal to the interior, the Giants (and Neal alike) have expressed little interest in making that transition:
“Evan is improving at the right tackle spot and we’ll keep working at it and see where it goes from there,” offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo said to Ryan Dunleavy of The New York Post in December. “…I’m not interested in what people outside the building say.”
Neal played one season at left guard during his collegiate career with Alabama before transitioning to tackle and staying there upon his entry to the NFL. However, a recent development within the NFC East has emphasized
The Eagles have turned Mekhi Becton into a legitimate starting guard
Back in April, during the weekend of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles signed former New York Jets offensive tackle and first-round pick Mekhi Becton. At the time, Becton was viewed as a complete draft bust whose career was spiraling out of control. He had dealt with injuries, weight issues, and a lack of confidence during his tenure with Gang Green.
But everything changed for Becton once he signed with the Eagles and they made the crucial decision to move him inside to guard. Prior to his time with Philadelphia, Becton had 0 snaps logged at guard across three years with New York. He ended up starting 15 games for the Eagles this season, playing 100% of his snaps at right guard.
The result of this transition? The best season of Becton’s career. He cut his surrendered pressures total down from 50 in 2023 to only 28 in 2024. He surrendered only three sacks this season despite surrendering 12 the season prior. In 2023, Becton committed 18 penalties. He committed only four penalties in 2024. He saw his Pro Football Focus grade dramatically improve from 53.2 in 2023 to 72.6 in 2024.
Becton’s career has done a complete 180 thanks to the coaching staff of the Philadelphia Eagles who recognized his strengths and weaknesses and determined that he would be better suited to play guard.
Becton and Neal’s profiles are not all that dissimilar. In fact, they are very similar players, with similar strengths and similar weaknesses.
They are both oversized linemen, each measured in at 6-foot-7. While it is unusual to see a player of that size align at guard, it’s not impossible. The Eagles recognized the limitations in Becton’s game; he had slow feet and struggled to pass protect on the edge. His powerful, run-blocking skill set could only be maximized if he moved inside to guard.
The Eagles had Becton make the transition and now he is viewed as a legitimate starter and one of the top impending free agents in the NFL. The Giants need to wise up and make the same move with Neal.
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It’s time to move Neal inside
The Giants don’t want to give up on Neal, and that’s understandable. They invested the No. 7 overall pick into him just three years ago, hoping he would be the piece to step in and finally fortify the Giants’ offensive line. However, those dreams have yet to come close to fruition.
Moving Neal to the interior wouldn’t signal that the Giants are giving up on Neal. On the contrary, it would actually prove that they still believe in him. It would emphasize that they still feel as though he possesses the talent that made him a top-10 pick and that they have failed to maximize his potential.
Moving Neal to guard could be the way to finally maximize that potential. But the Giants will never know unless they learn this lesson from the Eagles and give Neal a chance to turn his career around.