2. Drafting Evan Neal
All Giants fans have wanted for a decade is quality, consistent offensive line play. We have suffered through the likes of Ereck Flowers and Will Hernandez, and we finally thought our luck was changing when Andrew Thomas became an All Pro. Trying to build off that momentum of hitting on a lineman in the draft, Schoen selected Evan Neal out of Alabama in his first draft at the helm of the Giants.
One of the most highly-ranked players in all of the 2022 draft, Neal was poised to be the force opposite of Thomas. But, life is cruel. Neal has come nowhere close to being the guy the Giants need to help anchor this offensive line. He often looks lost on certain protections and his ability to handle the edge-rushers in pass protection is seemingly nonexistent.
He has prototypical size for the position, but his ability just hasn't been there. His play got so bad, fans let him hear it and he didn't hesitate calling them out. Not exactly the way to go if your play isn’t backing up the talk. Building the line through the draft is what teams like the Giants need to do, but Neal wasn't the answer. He's facing a make-or-break year in 2024.