FOX Sports Analyst Breaks Down Why Evan Neal is the Top OT in This Year's Class
Evan Neal jokes that he “sprouted at birth.” The massive offensive lineman came into this world at 11 pounds, 22½ inches and hasn’t been referred to as small ever since.
“My family likes to make fun of me and say I came back from the hospital sitting up in the car seat,” Neal said during the Fox Sports’ special The Big Boys Club: O-Line Draft Academy. “I’ve always been big, man. Always.”
Size has long been part of Neal’s story. By the time he was in the eighth grade, he stood at 6-foot-6, 378 pounds and was getting mistaken as an adult. His frame grew to 6-foot-7, 390 pounds during high school where he attended the prestigious IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
Neal’s mammoth stature allowed him to bully smaller opponents on the football field and saw him rise into one of the nation’s top recruits. However, it also served as one of the red flags in the lineman’s development.
During his time at IMG Academy, Neal ran into longtime NFL offensive lineman Bryan Bulaga. It was then that the future Alabama star received a bit of stern advice that ended up altering his trajectory for the better.
“Bryan Bulaga said, ‘If I was a GM, I wouldn’t draft you because you’re too big,’” Neal said during the FOX Sports special. “That kind of scared me a little bit. It resonated with me. I took it serious because this man is in the NFL, and he said he wouldn’t draft me. I’m not getting drafted. So I’m like, ‘I’ve got to do something.’”
Neal did just that, dropping more than 50 pounds since arriving at Alabama in January of 2019. Three years and 40 career starts later, he’s two days away from becoming a top-10 pick in this year’s NFL Draft.
Neal details his transformation while providing a look at his journey to becoming one of the best players at his position in The Big Boys Club, an all-access look feature that will air nationally on Tuesday at 4 p.m. CT. on FS1. The roughly 45-minute special, which can also be viewed on FOX Sports’ digital platforms, was filmed on location at offensive line guru Duke Manyweather’s OL Masterminds camp in Frisco, Texas.
Manyweather and host Geoff Schwartz are joined by five of this year’s top offensive line prospects, including Neal as well as Mississippi State’s Charles Cross, Kentucky’s Darian Kinnard, Northern Iowa’s Trevor Penning and Michigan's Andrew Stueber.
Monday, Schwartz, a former All-Pac-12 right tackle at the University of Oregon with eight years of NFL experience, sat down with BamaCentral to give his thoughts on Neal ahead of Thursday’s NFL Draft. Here’s a look at what he had to say about the Alabama lineman.
Where does Evan Neal stand among this year’s offensive tackles?
“He’s my top tackle because I think he’s the readiest to play without a lot of adjustments now. I think his pass-protect kind of puts him ahead of Ickey [Ikem Ekwonu], but his ability to run block kind of puts him ahead of Charles Cross, who’s an excellent pass protector. Those two things combined make me lean more toward Evan.
“With Ickey, you look at the possibility of moving him to guard but also the pass protection concerns are there. For me, again, I think Evan’s the most ready. I think that’s important. When you’re drafting in the top five, you just want to put someone in a slot and not have to worry about how they are going to develop. I feel like he’s the safest one of the tackles right now, and he’s who I would draft first if I was drafting a tackle.”
Neal has played at both tackle positions as well as left guard at Alabama. Is he a sure-fire left tackle in the NFL?
“You need to have to tackles now. If you’re the Giants and you draft a tackle, why not put him at right tackle if you feel Andrew Thomas can stay at left tackle. I don’t think there has to be a spot where he stays. Obviously, he’s been good at right tackle. If he had played his entire career at left tackle, maybe I’d feel different, but he hasn’t. The ability to do multiple things might actually be a benefit for him.
“I’d leave him at left unless you’re the Giants or someone else who has a left tackle, then put him at right tackle. I think he can do either or.”
One thing that is often mentioned with Evan Neal is that he has a high floor as a prospect. Do you feel like he is one of the safest picks in the draft in terms of not becoming a bust?
“He’s going to be good. We’ve seen recently that Alabama tackles are good. Now is he going to be All-Pro? I don’t know, it’s hard to predict now. But you’re getting a guy who has steadily improved throughout his career, who has really put a lot of work into his body, too. I think it’s important to look at his commitment to making sure his body is as ready to play football as possible. All those things combined make him very unlikely to be bad. Again, it’s hard to say whether he’ll be an All-Pro, but I don’t think he’ll ever be bad.”
Speaking of Neal’s body transformation, have you noticed a difference in the way he plays at his lighter weight?
“I think when you’re at a better, healthier weight, you just move better, you train better. All those things just add up to being a better player in general. I don’t really notice that big of a difference in his movement skills, but his preparation at getting ready must be getting easier. That’s part of it.”
Where would Neal land if you placed him in last year’s class?
“Most people I’ve talked to would have Penei [Sewell] then Evan Neal then Slater. Obviously, it all depends on everyone’s grade. Slater wasn’t graded as highly as he performed as a rookie, so people might want to adjust that. But that’s where I think it’s at right now.”
At one point we saw Neal mentioned as the possible No. 1 overall pick. Now, he’s being projected more and more outside the top five. Is there a red flag in his game that has caused that slide?
“I think it’s just the eye of the beholder. I think that we see the stock of players go up and down all the time. But I also think what Jacksonville did this offseason has a huge part of this. They franchised Cam Robinson and then they signed Brandon Scherff. They also drafted Walker Little last year. If they had lost Cam Robinson, you’d say they’d need a tackle ASAP, but now it’s like ‘Ok, well we don’t need one this year. We could use a pass rusher.’ That I think changed a lot of their draft plans.”
What is something Neal needs to work on to take him to the next level?
“He knows this, but I think at the end of blocks, he kind of falls off blocks. That to me feels like where he needs to improve. It’s just a matter of a little bit of training, unlocking your hips a little bit in a different and anticipating movements. That’s an easy fix I think. It’s not something you look at like he can’t play because he can’t do this. It’s something he has to work on, but it’s not that big of a concern in my opinion.”
After spending some time with Neal, what did you gather from him in terms of a mental standpoint?
“He’s just very mature. When you watch film or talk ball with him, he’s just really a mature person. He’s played a lot of high-level football. He’s played in SEC Championship Games, played in title games. He’s played guard, tackle, right and left. I just think that he’s a very mature, thoughtful guy and is really purposeful on the field. I really enjoyed talking to him.
“I was really impressed with his maturity and talking to him about football. His ability to discuss the game very calmly, he knows exactly what he has to do. I think a team is getting a player who can instantly be a foundational piece on the offensive line.”
Neal was going up against a future top-five pick in Will Anderson Jr. every day in practice the past two seasons. What effect will that have on both his draft status and the ability to adapt quickly to the NFL?
“It has to matter, obviously. I think that when you’re playing better players, you get a better sense of what they can and can’t do right away. Part of scouting offensive line is really tough because a lot of guys just don’t play pros. So when you’re watching them, you have to look and see this technique translates well because of this or this doesn’t.
“With Evan Neal, you don’t have to do that because you see it. You don’t have to project it because it's there in front of you. It’s impressive to see him be able to play those players, and you get a good sense of what he can do.”
Watch Evan Neal on The Big Boys Club
Evan Neal on Big Boys Club
Photo | Courtesy of FOX Sports
Photo | Courtesy of FOX Sports
Photo | Courtesy of FOX Sports
