With the way he has struggled this year at right tackle, a lot of NY Giants fans have just about had it with Evan Neal lining up on the outside for thie offense. Instead, plenty of people have been calling for head man Brian Daboll to move him inside to guard.
This would seem like a strong idea on the surface, but general manager Joe Schoen said that's not the long-term plan for the former No. 7 overall pick. Neal agreed with what Schoen had to say, but he took things a bit further by dropping a hilarious response when asked if he'd consider making the switch:
“As soon as I stepped out of the womb, I stepped out an offensive tackle”
— Talkin’ Giants (@TalkinGiants) December 6, 2023
Evan Neal on the idea of him moving to Guard pic.twitter.com/tKDaC6QQA4
Evan Neal has no plans to make the move from right tackle to guard
"To be honest, if you want my opinion, as soon as I stepped out of the womb, I stepped out an offensive tackle. That's how I feel and you asked Joe the question and he gave you his analysis on where he felt like he sees me, so there you have it."Evan Neal
That's gold from Neal and you could tell just how passionate he is about trying to make things work at right tackle. When the Giants drafted him in 2022, the dream was that he'd be able to slide right in and be an impact OT along with Andrew Thomas. We've seen just how great Thomas has been for NY.
However, Neal struggled during his rookie season - it was a debut campaign to forget for him. After working overtime during the offseason to get himself ready for 2023, plenty of Big Blue supporters thought Neal would be ready to really take a step forward this fall.
Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case at all. Neal is still having games to forget and he's consistently letting NY QBs get pressured. Neal has been dealing with an ankle injury, but he has five more games (if he's fully healthy) to prove he can still be a reliable player.