Giants could get a player of № 1 overall caliber in the fight against Evan Neil – Reading Eagles

Max Starks believes the Giants got player № 1 in the 2022 NFL Draft with № 7.

“Evan Neal was my promising No. 1 in the draft, and I was surprised that Jacksonville didn’t take him,” the 40-year-old Starks, who has twice won the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl, told the Daily News. “Every team in the NFL is now built from the outside – from wide receivers to offensive selections and quarterbacks – and you fit in.

“So I was surprised Jacksonville didn’t take it,” added Starks, an NFL analyst for Steelers, ESPN and Sirius XM, who called for the draft. “Obviously, Ickey Ekwonu is gone [to Carolina] choice earlier. But for the Giants, I think they got the best. ”

NFL analyst Brian Baldinger said The Nile size alone is 6-7, 351 pounds was a rare featureeven when he first appeared in freshman year in Alabama.

“I talked to Patrick Surtain about it and asked what you remember about Evan Neil’s visit to Tuscaloosa? He said, “Bald, dude, this is the biggest elephant I’ve ever seen,” said Baldinger, who played 11 seasons on the O-line for Cowboys, Colts and Eagles.

“He just came out big, with a big professional body at 18, and then played left-back, right-handed and left-handed,” added the 62-year-old Baldinger. “I respect that.”

Willie Colon, a former Super Cup champion in the Steelers, played both as a security guard and in the qualifiers during his career. And he said that turning the Nile from right to left is so natural at its size is impressive.

“It’s more his talent as well as his coaching, the fact that at his size they can make him comfortable playing guard or knocking out left-handers,” Colon said during his charity golf trip to Summit, New York. Jersey, “Because I think it’s a lot harder to move from the right fence to the left. Inside you can be protected from the center or anything. But going for the right and left selection, it just shows, damn it, the kid has a lot of talent. ”

Let’s face it: the Giants ’offensive line has been an annual problem for too long. Such an imposing player is long overdue.

“The Giants have been suffering from a bad O-line game for a while,” Colon said. “You need to start gathering guys who know how to play, who, as you feel, can be part of your organization for the next 5, 6 years. And the fact is that he is 6-7, 350. His athleticism through the roof. And he played for a long time at the elite level against some of the big competitors in college. “

The 21-year-old Neil played 13 left-back games for the Crimson Tide in 2019, 12 right-back games in 2020 and 15 left-back games last year with Nick Saban last fall.

The Giants started it with the right selection, and in 2020 under the overall number 4 chose Andrew Thomas from the left.

In the first team at OTA training on Thursday in OTA practice a free agent signed Mark Glavinsky as a right-back on the left ankle).

Neil said it was good to return to the field to practice in his position on the right, as it has been more than a year since he played there.

“He brought back a pretty good nostalgia,” he said with a smile.

Expectations will be high for Nile right out of the gate. Giants offensive line coach Bobby Johnson said one of Neil’s defining qualities is that “he wants to be really good. And the more you talk to him, the more you realize it’s not in words. It’s real. “

“Evan is putting a lot of pressure on himself,” Johnson said. “He was drafted into the top 10 and he came to New York. This pressure alone is enough to crush a player … One of my keys to it now: “Hey, my job is to train you. If you need any pressure, let me do it. ”

Apartmentback Daniel Jones was naturally “excited” to see the “Giants” come up with a rollback, and commented on Neil’s drive to improve.

“So far, Evan has looked great, and you could say he really wants to learn that. He wants to take it away, ”Jones said. “It is important for him. He works a lot. “

Although Neil is quiet and reserved, he also has a nasty side that he lets out on the field. That’s why, although he delves into his early off-season training, he prefers to practice in pads.

“We’ve been to Alabama a lot, so I guess Coach Saban made me like that,” he said with a laugh. “Everything has time and place, but now I’m just trying to build a foundation and get better.”

Baldinger said that Neil, who came out of Saban’s glove, was so strong – it’s not a small thing.

“I respect that for the guy who lined up and played 41 games in a row in this conference,” Baldinger said. “First, Nick beats you up every day. Then every Saturday you oppose the best in the country and hold on. And you do it three years in a row. I think this is the highest test for a warrior. “

Technically, Baldinger said Neil “doesn’t look like he has some problems with Andrew [Thomas] came from Georgia. “

“They bragged [Thomas’] athletic ability, “said Baldinger.” It’s only because his feet have never been in the ground. Once he got to the ground, he became the best player. Evan Neil’s legs look like the ground to me. “

Despite his mammoth size, Baldinger said he believes Neil is more than capable than moving his legs to take to the streets to stretch in Brian Deball’s offense.

“Dion Dawkins did it in Buffalo,” Baldinger said. “No one thought he could play in the NFL, now he’s started [five] years in a row for Buffalo. I think [Neal] can do it all well enough. You will not go to Alabama and you will not be able to escape. “

Although the Giants ’plan is to play with Thomas on the left and Neil on the right, Starks said Neil’s versatility in combat also makes him more suitable for the Giants than Equan would be outside the state. NC – in case Thomas gets injured or one day not with the team.

“I felt he was the most versatile, while Aiki’s more genuine correct roll-up could probably play guard for you,” Starks said. “I don’t think he doesn’t have the ability to play left yet, while Evan Neil is new to any position you want to put him in.”

Baldinger said the film shows Neil “bending his waist, not his knee,” as evidenced by his ability to play guard. “So it won’t be too stretched like Andrew Thomas did much in his early year.”

He said that above all, Neil is “massive, just massive.” He has a wide body, ”he said. “It’s hard to get around. It’s hard to get through it. I can find plays in which he is out of balance, his guy is rocking a little, they are recovering a little slower. But those guys have a way to turn everything into a fight when it happens. And that’s what you have to do. “

Baldinger also said playing with Glavinsky would be key. He compared Eagles ’right-hand drive in Lane Johnson’s first 2017 All-Pro season when Brendan Brooks was next to him, with Johnson’s other years when Brooks was injured or unavailable.

“You’ll be as strong as the guard next to you,” Baldinger said.

GM giants Joe Schoen admitted that 8% of the NFL had medical problems with the Nile. SI.com reported that it is related to Nile’s knee and hip. But the Giants doctors were “all right,” and Neil’s strength in the SEC confirmed their findings.

So they took him away, and, according to Neil, “my dreams came true.”

Now he wants to confirm their trust in him.

()