It’s college football Saturday, so in the spirit of the day, let’s go full SEC mode and revisit how one infamous draft pick from the conference might’ve doomed the New York Giants from the start.
Related: Giants finally bury Evan Neal with Penei Sewell-caliber pick in 2026 mock
Evan Neal was billed as one of the best offensive tackles in the 2022 class. The former Alabama star’s size-athleticism combo was literally off the charts, making him one of the most intriguing prospects the league had seen in years. He earned Freshman All-SEC honors, won a national title as a sophomore, and picked up First-Team All-SEC and All-American recognition as a junior. Not bad — which is why the Giants took him No. 7 overall.
Still, even back then, there were questions about his pass protection. And there was another SEC standout getting top-10 buzz. Charles Cross, out of Mississippi State, had a similar résumé — Freshman All-SEC, First-Team All-SEC — and was viewed as the better pure pass-blocker. If Joe Schoen hadn’t been baited by traits, the Giants might be in a totally different spot right now.
Giants still paying the price for drafting Evan Neal over Charles Cross
Both were All-SEC talents with wildly different calling cards. Neal had the freakish size and athletic traits at 6-foot-7, 340 pounds, while Cross was the lighter, smoother mover at 6-foot-5, 310. One banked on upside. The other banked on polish. The Giants ran with the former, while the Seattle Seahawks went with the latter.
It's hard not to look back on that draft and wonder where Big Blue would be had things gone differently. To say the former Alabama star has struggled in the NFL would be an understatement. After failing to stick at right tackle, he moved inside to give it a shot at guard. Early returns looked promising, but it was more of the same, as he flamed out in the preseason, all but guaranteeing his end in East Rutherford.
And he hasn't suited up since — three straight healthy scratches to open the season tell the story.
While Neal’s stuck watching from the sideline, Cross is quietly balling out this season. Pro Football Focus clocks him as the eighth-best pass-blocking tackle (81.7 grade) and the sixth-best tackle (81.1 grade) out of 101 eligible players. That's quite the difference.
It's frustrating. Sure, Cross was likely viewed as more of a blindside blocker than a right tackle, but a bookend duo of Andrew Thomas (another SEC guy) and Cross could have been terrifying for opposing defenses.
It’s times like Jaxson Dart’s — yet another SEC guy — first start where the what-if game creeps in. That’s when you start thinking about how different things could’ve looked. With Neal out of the lineup and Jermaine Eluemunor holding down the right side, Dart’s in a better position to light it up. Then again, having the right SEC tackle could've changed everything.