It's never an easy decision when an NFL team chooses to cut ties with a former first-round pick, but that's what the New York Giants might do later this summer, according to a new projection of four players who are squarely on the chopping block.
For the Giants, that player is Evan Neal, the seventh-overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Neal was one of two first-round picks for New York that year. They used the No. 5 overall on edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux, who's also entering a make-or-break season now that 2025 first-round pick Abdul Carter will threaten for full-time reps.
As for Neal, the Giants' decision to kick him inside to guard this offseason is a final attempt to salvage a once-promising scouting report that projected the former Alabama star as a bookend tackle in the NFL. He's failed -- miserably -- in that role.
Stance change for Evan Neal pic.twitter.com/zMvUgCKa0S
— Giants Nation Show (@GiantsNationPod) May 28, 2025
"Moving forward, and with a healthy (Andrew) Thomas, Neal's best chance to stick around in New York is at guard," Bleacher Report's Matt Holder wrote. "That said, the organization added Jon Runyan and Greg Van Roten during free agency last spring and drafted Marcus Mbow a month ago, giving the team a couple of starters and a backup at the position."
The New York Giants' offensive line is still a work-in-progress, and Evan Neal will have a fair shot at earning an impactful role in the starting lineup if he proves to be a quick study at guard. If, however, he struggles in training camp or gets exposed during preseason games, Neal's time in New York may finally run out.
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