In order to start cooking pass-rushers on the field, Evan Neal hired a chef.
Entering his second year with the Giants after the team drafted him with the No. 7-overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Neal has slimmed down throughout the offseason in the hope of helping him improve from his rough rookie season at right tackle.
He said he weighed in at 345 pounds when he reported to training camp after he finished last season at 353 pounds, but more importantly, he added needed muscle to his 6-foot-7 frame.
Neal claimed he followed his normal offseason regimen, albeit with one key difference — a personal chef.
“I was just a lot more conscious about my diet,” Neal said before practice on Friday. “It was really helpful in terms of what I was putting in my body, just having meals there for me so I didn’t have to think about eating.”
In order to make the jump from Year 1 to Year 2, he envisions in his new body, there is a blueprint for Neal.
On the other side of the offensive line, stud left tackle Andrew Thomas once found himself in a situation nearly identical to Neal’s as a highly drafted offensive tackle who struggled throughout his rookie season.
But Thomas, who was drafted fourth overall in 2020, has made huge leaps each of the past two seasons, and on Wednesday signed a massive five-year extension worth $117.5 million with $67 million guaranteed.
“I was in that same spot, being drafted high in New York,” Thomas said on Wednesday. “Playing offensive tackle is not an easy thing to do as a rookie, but I’m always in his ear [and] anything I can do to help him. We bounce ideas off each other, talk about different techniques, talk about rushes and I think he’s going to be a good player for us.”
Just as the Giants banked on Thomas becoming their franchise left tackle, they expect the same for Neal on the right side.
Neal, who started 13 games at right tackle left season, was graded as the 80th-best tackle in the NFL by Pro Football Focus, with a 41.8 grade out of 100.
He surrendered seven sacks on 453 pass-blocking snaps.
After predominantly playing left tackle at Alabama, moving over to the right side with the Giants required adjustments from Neal, who said he now feels “comfortable” on that side.
And though he made a point not to use it as an excuse, Neal was hampered by a right MCL sprain last year.
It was the first time he had dealt with a midseason injury, which he “definitely feels like was a factor.”
With a new physique and restored health, the arrow should only point up for Neal.
“Just to see someone in your room make the improvement that [Thomas] made, especially in the same position group, it’s just good to be around,” Neal said. “But I’m confident in myself to make the jump that I need to.”
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