Giants OT Evan Neal Talks Improvement for Year 2

Although New York Giants offensive tackle Evan Neal is a completely different person, he hopes his second year in the NFL mirrors that of teammate Andrew Thomas.

To ensure it happens, Neal has been diligently working on improving his game to establish more of a comfort level playing on the right side.

So far, so good.

"I feel very comfortable," Neal said before Friday's evening practice. "I felt great out there the past two days. Just going to use the rest of camp to continue to hone in on those skills, just make small improvements every day. I feel like I am never going to be a finished product. I will take each day to get better and better."

The Giants have yet to put the pads on--that won't happen until Tuesday--but they're certainly hoping that Neal takes the kind of gigantic leap forward in his development that Thomas did when, after finishing with 57 quarterback pressures (second most among tackles in 2020), he cut that number down to 18 in his second NFL season.

Neal, who tied for third-most quarterback pressures allowed last season (52), has heard the comparisons made about expectations, but he tries not to let it manifest to where it becomes a distraction.

"I don’t think about that at all," he said. "Andrew Thomas is himself, and I am Evan Neal. I’m just going to focus on being the best Evan Neal that I can be. Andrew is a great player, and he’s a great role model for me as well. I’m just going to continue to get better every single day and control what I can control."

To ensure he's the best version of himself possible, Neal focused on reshaping his body in the off-season, which included dropping about 10-15 pounds and adding muscle to where he says he weighed in at 345 when he arrived at camp.

It also helps that Neal is completely healthy after struggling through a sprained MCL suffered midyear last season.

"Last year was last year, man," he said, refusing to use the knee injury as an excuse. "I’m really focused on the 2023 season. I did feel like 9the knee injury) made it more challenging for me because I had never gotten hurt during the season and had to play through it. So, I definitely feel like that was a factor, but I’m not going to make any excuses. That’s the past; we are in the present now."

He's also more confident in the mental part of the game.

"This is year two. I’ve seen everything," he said. "I’ve been in the building for a while. I’m just going out there and doing what I have been doing my entire life, which is playing football."

So where does he feel he can improve the most?

"In every facet of the game," Neal said. " Whether it’s pass protection or run blocking, I want to be the absolute best that I can be, and it’s going to take one day at a time. Putting the work in one day at a time, that’s what training camp is for, and it’s going to lead into the season."

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