John Harbaugh Believes in Giants' Draft Ghosts, but Should He?

New York Giants general manager Joe Schoen has knocked a few recent draft picks out of the park, but some of the premium selections from early in his tenure have not played out.

And yet, rather than move on, Schoen and the Giants have held onto these players—offensive linemen Evan Neal and Joshua Ezeudu and receiver Jalin Hyatt—hoping for a breakthrough that, for whatever reason, has never materialized.

Here is where things currently stand with each as of the end of the spring program.

OL Evan Neal

New York Giants offensive lineman Evan Neal | Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

This might be Schoen's most egregious miss yet. He took Neal with the seventh overall pick in 2022, his first selection in charge, Schoen undoubtedly hoping that Neal would blossom into a competent bookend at right tackle opposite left tackle Andrew Thomas.

Instead, between performance struggles on the field and injuries, Neal, who was a much-heralded offensive lineman when he came out of Alabama, has looked lost from the start in New York, specifically in pass protection.

From 2022 through 2024–Neal didn’t play last season–his 8.5% pressure rate allowed (per PFF data) was the ninth highest by an offensive tackle. As a rookie, he allowed 52 pressures, tying him for third that season, and his play at times showed flashes of potential dominance, but not enough.

In 2024, the coaches finally decided to try Neal at guard, but an injury setback from season-ending ankle surgery ended that experiment before it ever got off the ground.

They tried it again in 2025 during training camp, but Neal, getting 44 preseason snaps, allowed 10 pressures for a 94.8 pass-blocking efficiency rating, failing to beat out incumbent Greg Van Roten at right guard. Neal was subsequently banished to the bench, even landing on IR at one point, and was never heard from again in 2025.

It’s fair to say that many people were stunned that Neal, who was an unrestricted free agent earlier this year, came back on a one-year prove-it deal.

To the Giants’ credit, if Neal doesn’t work out–and right now, given how the depth chart is stacked up, his best bet is going to be to try to unseat incumbent Jon Runyan Jr at left guard–the Giants can move on from him without incurring any dead money on their cap.

OL Joshua Ezeudu

New York Giants guard Joshua Ezeudu | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Ezeudu was a third-round draft pick by the Giants in that 2022 draft class. His bumpy NFL path has been mostly due to injuries–he’s played just 33 games over four seasons and didn’t take a single snap last year because of a calf injury despite his getting healthy midway through the campaign.

Ezeudu, who played his college ball at North Carolina, earned most of his work when filling in for the oft-injured Andrew Thomas at left tackle. Ezeudu has allowed pressures on 6.2% of his pass-blocking snaps, over a percentage point worse than Neal's mark in the same stretch.

Part of the problem with Ezeudu was the previous coaching staff’s insistence that he play tackle instead of guard. During the 2023 preseason, Ezeudu spent the entire summer working at left and right guard, getting two starts at left guard.

Yet mysteriously, the coaches decided the week before the start of the 2023 campaign to start working Ezeudu, who again had been a college tackle, at offensive tackle, where he would go on to struggle in relief of Thomas, who suffered a hamstring strain in the regular-season opener that year.

Ezeudu ended up playing in six games that season–181 pass-blocking snaps–and registering 12 quarterback pressures for a 95.0 pass-blocking efficiency rating.

The following season wasn’t much better. In 119 pass-blocking snaps, Ezeudu allowed a career-high 15 quarterback pressures for a career-worst 92.3 pass-blocking efficiency rating.

Based on how the spring ended, we’re not sure where Ezeudu is going to fit into this offensive line group. Marcus Mbow looks like he’s the lead swing tackle candidate, and we’re not sure that Ezeudu is high up in the mix for any competition at left guard.

Like Neal, however, Ezeudu is getting a fresh start under Harbaugh, the Giants having signed him to a one-year, no-risk contract that will carry no dead money if he doesn’t make it.

WR Jalin Hyatt

New York Giants wide receiver Jalin Hyatt | Julian Leshay Guadalupe/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This one probably hurts the most given that the Giants traded up in the third round of the 2023 draft to land receiver Jalin Hyatt, formerly with the University of Tennessee.

Hyatt is one of the early examples of the speedy, vertical receiver with a limited route tree who general managers are often too quick to fall for. His 4.4 speed and eye-popping collegiate production were enough to entice Schoen, but the tools have never translated into NFL performance.

Hyatt's targets, receptions, and yardage totals have all dropped in each of his three NFL seasons. As a rookie, he had four drops (14.8%) in 40 pass targets and appeared to struggle with tracking the ball in-flight and playing enough of a physical game to win the contested catch, where he has a 42.1% career success rate.

The handwriting was on the wall for Hyatt when Malik Nabers went down with a season-ending ACL tear last year; Hyatt, who has yet to score a touchdown in the NFL, not only didn’t crack into the starting lineup, but he was limited to just 14 targets, catching five (35.7% catch rate).

After a wave of signings at the wide receiver position, which have appeared to push Hyatt down the depth chart even further, the Giants do not appear to have a reason to hold onto the former third-round pick.

They can save $1.517 million with just a $272,785 dead money hit if they terminate Hyatt's rookie deal. Short of Hyatt having a strong summer and preseason showing, that appears to be the direction the team is leaning.

“Why Not?”

New head coach John Harbaugh has been all about giving players a clean slate, which clearly these three one-time draft picks desperately need.

"They haven't broken through yet, but why can't they?" Harbaugh, speaking specifically of Neal and Ezeudu, told reporters at the league meetings back in March.

"George Bernard Shaw [said] some men see things as they -- you ready for this one? Let me make sure I get this right: Some men see things as they are, and they ask why. We see things as they aren't and ask why not.

“That's what I kind of say with those guys. I could have said that better, but you get the point, right? Why not? Why not give them an opportunity?”

Time will tell if his faith in the three is justified.

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