Shaun O'Hara on Neal's move to guard

[andrew_nyGiants]

Don't get me wrong, I'm rooting HARD for this kid to start somewhere on the OL!

Shawn said he's a great kid, with a positive attitude, he works hard and has all the tools.

So what was everyone missing in the 2022 draft? He was a 7th overall pick and I didn't hear a single pundit nor fan say anything negative about the choice.

What am I missing?

[MightyGiants]

@Painter and @jimc and @andrew_nyGiants

I remember reviewing the film on Evan Neal before the draft.  One thing that bothered me was he was frequently on the ground.  Former Giants scout and Head of Bears Scouting had said that an offensive lineman frequently on the ground is a red flag (indicating balance issues).

I wasn't too concerned about the flag, because the draftnik community and even teams (Jerry Jones exposed the Dallas board, which showed Neal as one of the top players on their board)  were high on him.

Neal also didn't participate in any of the Combine drills.  That has become more common place, but in hindsight that should have been another red flag as his refusal to run was likely to hide his lack of speed required for an NFL tackle.

Another interesting hindsight observation was that Schoen tried to play the draft.  If you recall at pick 5 (where the Giants took KT) the two tackles available were Evan Neal and Ikem Ekwonu (drafted by the Panthers 6).  Schoen opted for KT because presumably they had roughly equal grades on Neal and Ekwonu.

While Neal's performance to date puts him in the bust category, Ekwonu struggled early and at this point in time is performing at the level of an adequate (maybe very slightly better than that) starting OT.

I agree that O-line coaching likely played a role (especially as O-line coaches tend to be more involved in scouting than other coaches).  Although the odd thing is that the Giants' O-line coach we want to blame, Bobby Johnson, seems to be doing a very good job with the Commanders.

[Ed Vette]

@Painter and @jimc and @andrew_nyGiants

I remember reviewing the film on Evan Neal before the draft.  One thing that bothered me was he was frequently on the ground.  Former Giants scout and Head of Bears Scouting had said that an offensive lineman frequently on the ground is a red flag (indicating balance issues).

I wasn't too concerned about the flag, because the draftnik community and even teams (Jerry Jones exposed the Dallas board, which showed Neal as one of the top players on their board).

Neal also didn't participate in any of the Combine drills.  That has become more common place, but in hindsight that should have been another red flag as his refusal to run was likely to hide his lack of speed required for an NFL tackle.

Another interesting hindsight observation was that Schoen tried to play the draft.  If you recall at pick 5 (where the Giants took KT) the two tackles available were Evan Neal and Ikem Ekwonu (drafted by the Panthers 6).  Schoen opted for KT because presumably they had roughly equal grades on Neal and Ekwonu.

While Neal's performance to date puts him in the bust category, Ekwonu struggled early and at this point in time is performing at the level of an adequate (maybe very slightly better than that) starting OT.

I agree that O-line coaching likely played a role (especially as O-line coaches tend to be more involved in scouting than other coaches).  Although the odd thing is that the Giants' O-line coach we want to blame, Bobby Johnson, seems to be doing a very good job with the Commanders.

The Offensive and Defensive Lines are the only positions where it's purely one on one competition. Receivers and DBs are not physical and they have zone aspects and route schemes. The QB and RBs have assistance. Think of the line play as wrestling matches. It's positions where you face elite competition and these are the 320+ best players on the entire planet.

In College, an OT may face an outstanding player one week and someone who will go on to a different career the next week.

It's extremely difficult to predict how successful an Oline player will be, unless the player is clearly a man among boys. That's why you will never see me grading and predicting Hog Mollies. Just one flaw in their skill set can ruin a career and there is no way of knowing their motivation and intestinal fortitude and resilience in developing their craft amd their bodies. Then add to that pile, the situation they are asked to succeed in.

Abdul Carter is a player I feel confident in. Micah Parsons was too. I had my doubts about Strahan after his first season. He made himself an elite player. Andrew Thomas looked like a huge bust for two seasons and although he made himself a good OT, his body is not holding up.

Any draft guru out there will be lucky if they can be right 30% of the time. So all the criticism over fans not seeing red flags over a draft pick at one of these positions, is just ridiculous.

[Giant Obsession]

Stiff.
Horrible feet.
Slow to recognize (at best)

Just cut him now or hoodwink someone else to give him a try.

Couple of good bull rushers or blitzers thru his hole and our QB room is gonna get empty in a hurry.

When you have a thorn in your arm, you don't leave it in there.

[Crypto Fareez]

I love
Paul Dotino
Schmeelk
O'hara

don't really care for Carl Banks at all

Cassilas is cool

But overall I really don't care what anyone who gets paychecks from the team says.

It's basically an infomercial. Seriously, Dotino and Schmeelk interviewing Schoen after the draft and lobbing up softballs to him. lol I wasn't born yesterday. I seen this bit too many times.