There’s no other way to put it, Evan Neal’s career has been a disaster to this point. He’s struggled in both pass protection and as a run blocker, as Pro Football Focus has credited him with 68 pressures (nine sacks) in 20 career regular season games and graded him as a well-below-average run blocker in both seasons.

To compound the issue, Neal finished last season on injured reserve and has missed almost all of training camp with an MCL injury. The latter could be very damning as the New York Giants responded by signing guard Gren Van Roten and moving Jermaine Eluemunor to right tackle, making the second-year pro’s role in the offense a little murky heading into the fall.

The Alabama product will likely begin the year as a backup at tackle or guard seeing as he hasn’t played well and is already behind the eightball. So, an argument could be made that Neal’s ‘goose is already cooked’, so to speak, but he at least seems to have a good attitude about the upcoming campaign and is saying all the right things.

“Whatever role the team has for me, I’m going to embrace it,” Neal said (h/t New York Post’s Ryan Dunleavy). “So, whether that’s starting or not starting, I’m here to contribute to the team, and I’m going to do everything in my power to do so.”

While the 2022 No. 7 overall pick might begin the year on the bench, this is the NFL where injuries happen all the time in the trenches. In other words, Neal will likely get another opportunity to prove himself, he just has to make the most of it when it arises.