EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It has been a tough go of things to date for former New York Giants first-round pick Evan Neal. He struggled badly during his rookie season in 2022, allowing an astronomical 52 pressures — third-most among all tackles league wide. At Pro Football Focus, he ranked 85th out of 89 qualified tackles in pass-block grade, and not much better (82nd) as a run blocker.
In Year 2, Neal perhaps backslid even more, allowing 29 pressures in just seven games and posting an even worse pass-blocking grade. Worse yet, he struggled with an ankle injury that kept him out for 10 of 17 contests, and that injury has lingered enough that the Giants placed him on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list to open this year’s training camp.
Head coach Brian Daboll doesn’t seem to know when Neal will be returning to the field.
“He’s just rehabbing. When he’s ready, he’ll be ready to go out there. But, he’s not ready,” Daboll said. “Look, he’s working hard. He’s trying to do everything he can do to get better. He’s just not ready to go yet. When he is, he’ll be ready. I’m not going to get into all the particulars. He’s rehabbing. When he’s ready, he’ll be ready.”
In his absence, the Giants have had to make some changes up front, including moving free-agent signee Jermaine Eluemunor from guard to tackle.
“That’s why we have Eluemunor, too,” Daboll said. “The guy plays right tackle at a high level, and happy he’s here.”
Still, Daboll said there are no plans to move Neal off of the tackle spot when he returns from his injury, whenever that is. He’s not yet thinking about whether Neal can be ready for the start of the season, and has the same level of concern for him that he would for any other player on the team.
“Everybody’s different. Everybody handles things different,” he said. “It’s obviously not my profession in terms of coming back, medically. I know he’s doing everything he can do. Whether it’s a high draft pick or undrafted free agent, you care about all your guys. So when he’s ready, we’ll put him out there.”
