Have you given up on Evan Neal? Honestly

it's either the player the GM drafted stinks or the coach couldn't get the talent out of him.

well I guess you can have it both ways. if both the player stinks and the coach is ineffective.

But there should be some accountability somewhere.

Missing on the #7 pick of the draft should have consequences shouldn't it? At least I don't just view it a shoulder shrug moment.

At a minimum (as it influences your teams record) at least your leash as a GM (or whoever is responsible for picking the player) should get shorter and your seat should get hotter? No? the 1st round of the draft is the most valuable resource you have as a franchise to improve the team.

If you didn't miss on the pick and the player is legit a 1st round talent but you as the GM or the HC brought in an OL coach who schemed poorly or in some other way influenced that great player to play bad should also yield some accountability. Not just to the coach who got fired, but to the people who hired the coach.

I don't even see how this is controversial. Yes, Daboll and Schoen should get credit for moving on from Bobby Johnson, but if Evan Neal looks like Dan Dierdorf out there yeah it's a good outcome but it also makes you wonder how much damage has been done.

Evan Neal was supposed to be a "safe pick", plug and play starter from the best OL in the SEC

Something went wrong. There should be consequences even if those consequences are just changes in some evaluation to avoid the same mistake. Just seems like normal business practice to me.

Move him inside to Left Guard.

Give him a healthy season and a solid guard next to him.

In comment 16395394 Optimus-NY said:

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Move him inside to Left Guard.

Agree!

Then Giants need to go into free Agency with Oline being the highest priority! Get Robert Hunt, Mike Onwenu, or Kevin Dotson. Then maybe snag another Olineman OT in FA or go to the draft and get one. If the Texans can rebuilt their Oline in one off-season, so can the Giants. It's possible.

this is his last season to prove he belongs to be penciled in as our starting RT going forward.

And I won't cry if they draft a replacement and/or competition.

I want to see how he looks with a real OL coach.

Sometimes you draft a bad player. Everyone here understands that.

In comment 16395395 US1 Giants said:

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Give him a healthy season and a solid guard next to him.

And good coaching for a change.

No. But I think he will be a guard.

The year he was drafted he was rated the #1 prospect in the draft for quite a while. He was no reach like Flowers and has great effort. With a New Coach and better health he could be
a quality starter or more.

But if he struggles again move him to guard to see if you can salvage somthing in his last year. I always believed it was a huge mistake when they let flowers walk bedore trying him at guard and it was a matter of pride by the GM that caused that outcome i sure hope i dont see it again they dont have the talent to play such games

Let's see what a new OL coach can do with him. But his leash is short. He was very bad last year IMO. I agree with whoever said he only gets the first half of next season to prove he can play tackle.

In comment 16395349 kelly said:

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His slow feet. Bad balance. He regressed his second year, which given his terrible first year is not a good sign. At best he will be a far below offensive tackle. Can he play guard, maybe but his height works against him. I would not go into camp with him penciled in as the starter.

Kelly, this is exactly what good coaching can do. He's played 20 NFL games total. And who knows how long his ankle was broken before the Giants put him on IR last season. I would say he's not guaranteed a starting position but he definitely needs better coaching.

But they should be drafting several OL in the draft, and a highly touted RT who can play OG should be high on the list. Especially in a good OL draft.

Doubling down on in house OL got Reese fired (see passing on Whitworth and Ramcyk).

The only safe OL should be Thomas and JMS. They should be going into this off-season assuming the other 3 spots need to be upgraded.

concerns considering he did no testing before the draft. He may have known it would have been abysmal like walking in cement.

and I haven't given up.

From all indication he seems to be a hard worker. He's been injured and the entire line has looked bad.

Get an established vet who can play at RTG and he gets this year.

Worries more than his skill level. Think if he stays healthy he will have a much better year. Worth the pick? Too early to tell. Many on this site whined about Thomas. Over and over. We can hope he turns it around. Not so sure why people get so angry and act like the guy is Toney. He busted his ass and been hurt.

to have a chance, even with new coaching.

If someone replaced him at RT I'd be fine with it. The Giants don't operate that way though. He'll get every chance to prove the decision makers right.

Last chance in 24

Last chance in 24

Yes.

.

... but odds are much higher that he continues to be a bust than it is he turns the corner somehow.

If the Giants go RT with their first round pick it would easily be a defensible pick.

His play decides what happens to him.

I sure hope Schoen give the Giants options at RT, C and G.

Neal should not be handed anything.....he must earn anything he gets.....the sames goes for everyone elseq

But Thomas is only OLmen that has earned anything.....

I want to see him healthy for the year with a new offensive line coach. That will let all of us know if he is a tackle or needs to move inside to guard.

He’s far better suited as a G where he can let a D-lineman come at him instead of at T where he has to race to depth, which puts him at a major disadvantage.

I’m not sure what the OP’s concern is with his body type for playing G. He’s got Andrus Peat’s build - same height and lower body thickness and power. They’re an inch taller than a lot of quality Gs so I don’t think that makes a difference.

Unless a team offers something crazy, I wouldn’t consider getting rid of him without trying a position change.

let's see what happens with the new line coach

even if he struggles, their still a path for him to be a plus player at guard.

why aren't his failings OBVIOUS??

With a typical reserve player, it is easy to understand why he is not a starter.

What makes it so hard to tell what's wrong with Neal and whether it is fixable or not?

Shuffle him around in preseason. If he stinks, he stinks. If he is tough, athletic, strong then he could find a better position that works for him mentally.

If not serviceable backup (which means starter by week2 in giants terms)

with Neal getting his act together at RT a priority.

At the same time, NYG needs to acquire another OL with the potential to supplant Neal at RT. No more scholarships.

and figure out what Bobby Johnson screwed up.

and apparently a shit human-being.

Great top 10 pick, if I've ever seen one.

If you phrase it differently, and ask 'are you confident about Neal?', I think the overall sentiment/response is going to shift.

No, I'm not confident in him, and I don't think there's much evidence to have confidence beyond hoping that a new OL coach does the trick.

At the same time, I haven't given up on him. Too soon, and there are extenuating circumstances, such as poor overall OL play, lackluster guards, bad coaching, etc. Doesn't mean he gets a full pass, though.

As JonC said, they need a backup plan in case the new OL coach can't get improvement out of him. We need a decent swing tackle anyhow, so getting one won't signal the end of Neal's time as a starter.

We also need guards, which will impact the overall OL play.

but, considering HOW much time he's missed, its impossible to say if Neal is a bust or not. He needs reps AND competent coaching that works to his strengths.
Right from the get go, Neal was asked to switch from left side to right, and learn COMPLETELY new techniques to allow for what Daboll wanted from his tackles. Neal was very slow to pick that up, spent a lot of time hurt his rookie year.
He improved some things (like his stance and how quickly he got out of it), for year 2 but spent the bulk of the year hurt. Now he could end up being a bust, but there's no real way to know.

to Daniel Jones regression.

Would like to see significant improvement in 2024 to even consider him being a part of their starting OL mix.

just hope he is not the stiff he has shown us to date

hoping that him getting the surgery that he should have gotten last year will help. But I am concerned that he didn't get it earlier when it was causing him so much trouble.

quick enough for OT. A move inside to OG could be exactly what he & the team need. Then, the Giants can focus on an OT in FA and/or the Draft!

but if they don't move him inside to guard...

In comment 16395300 AROCK1000 said:

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. Nor DJ either

So are you going to give Neal six years and a market-rate second contract before you decide?

If not, why not?

but what choice do I have? If he's out there starting week 1 we hope that he figures shit out. Would I bet on Neal turning into Kmac part 2 here? No. But I have some hope because I have no fucking choice. And the kid has played a grand total of what, 16 or so games at the NFL level?

Big year 3 for him. Time is running out.

In comment 16397735 Gatorade Dunk said:

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In comment 16395300 AROCK1000 said: Quote: . Nor DJ either So are you going to give Neal six years and a market-rate second contract before you decide? If not, why not?

Refresh my memory but I don't recall Neal playing well in 2022, even just "pretty well" for the stat sluts, leading this team to the playoffs and a playoff win while winning a couple of POTW honors along the way.


But that's just me. Maybe I missed something about Neal.

In comment 16397784 djm said:

Quote:

In comment 16397735 Gatorade Dunk said: Quote: In comment 16395300 AROCK1000 said: Quote: . Nor DJ either So are you going to give Neal six years and a market-rate second contract before you decide? If not, why not? Refresh my memory but I don't recall Neal playing well in 2022, even just "pretty well" for the stat sluts, leading this team to the playoffs and a playoff win while winning a couple of POTW honors along the way. But that's just me. Maybe I missed something about Neal.

That was his rookie year, wasn't it?

Just so we're clear, DJ was held back by Judge and Garrett, and we can't use 2020 and 2021 against him because of that. But Bobby Johnson's failure to develop any OL prospects during his two years here is an irrelevant factor when evaluating Neal. Do I have that right?

He has all the ingredients to be a good OT, but has not shown it with his play. The caveat is he has been injured and their OL coach was let go.

If he cannot handle OT, I expect him to be moved to G which may be more suitable. I would rather had him success at OT than G, but really I just want him to be a plus player somewhere on the OL.

In comment 16397790 Gatorade Dunk said:

Quote:

In comment 16397784 djm said: Quote: In comment 16397735 Gatorade Dunk said: Quote: In comment 16395300 AROCK1000 said: Quote: . Nor DJ either So are you going to give Neal six years and a market-rate second contract before you decide? If not, why not? Refresh my memory but I don't recall Neal playing well in 2022, even just "pretty well" for the stat sluts, leading this team to the playoffs and a playoff win while winning a couple of POTW honors along the way. But that's just me. Maybe I missed something about Neal. That was his rookie year, wasn't it? Just so we're clear, DJ was held back by Judge and Garrett, and we can't use 2020 and 2021 against him because of that. But Bobby Johnson's failure to develop any OL prospects during his two years here is an irrelevant factor when evaluating Neal. Do I have that right?

I don't really care, respectfully. Was just saying Neal didn't have that good year like DJ did under the first year of Daboll/Schoen.

I cautiously believe in Neal that he can become a solid starter, especially with the new OL coming in. But we need to see it first. I wouldn't bet my life on it because I am jaded. NEal is a talent so hopefully his work ethic pays off.

yes.

Let’s see how he does with new coaches. Worst case, they kick him inside, where his flaws will be minimized. If he’s a pro bowl quality OG, than his draft slot is only a slight overpay. If he’s solid, a more significant overpay, and if he can’t cut it, than we can call him a bust. I really don’t think we’ll get there.

In comment 16397529 TheMick7 said:

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quick enough for OT. A move inside to OG could be exactly what he & the team need. Then, the Giants can focus on an OT in FA and/or the Draft!

To paraphrase ABC's Wide World of Sports opening montage: "the agony of da feet!" He's too slow.