Getty Evan Neal's future is in doubt after the New York Giants' latest move in free agency.
The New York Giants weren’t done using 2024 NFL free agency to remake the league’s worst offensive line. Veteran Greg Van Roten became the third guard added by the team this offseason, when head coach Brian Daboll confirmed the 34-year-old’s arrival on Tuesday, July 30.
Van Roten, who played for new Giants’ offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo last season with the Las Vegas Raiders last season, “should step in as a starting guard,” according to Dan Duggan of The Athletic.
Duggan also believes Van Roten’s arrival “is further evidence that Jermaine Eluemunor’s shift to right tackle is permanent.” It’s a reasonable assumption since Van Roten made 17 starts at right guard for Bricillo, while fellow former Raider Jermaine Eluemunor had switched to right tackle at the start of training camp.
It all adds up to bad news for Evan Neal, the seventh player taken in the 2022 NFL draft, who has struggled mightily at right tackle. The former Alabama linchpin now looks set to find himself without a starting spot just two years into this pro career.
Several observers believe the writing is on the wall for Neal after an arduous offseason.
Van Roten’s deal also meant bad news for defensive back Aaron Robinson. The former third-round pick was waived to clear room for the latest new arrival after a “failed physical,” per NorthJersey.com’s Art Stapleton.
Evan Neal in Jeopardy After Latest Signing
Neal is currently on the PUP list, so he was already missing valuable reps at camp. The work could have been priceless for a young player facing a pivotal season.
Now Neal’s problems just got worse because Van Roten’s arrival doesn’t bode “particularly well” for the former first-rounder, according to SNY.tv’s Connor Hughes. The latter responded to Daboll not precluding move another newcomer, Jon Runyan Jr., to left guard to make room for Van Roten on the right, per SB Nation’s Big Blue View.
As Hughes pointed out, “This is noteworthy because the entire point of Runyan playing right was to help Evan Neal.”
Neal had already seen Daboll move Eluemunor into his spot earlier at camp, per Stapleton. That particular switch had ESPN’s Bill Barnwell thinking Neal would shift to guard, something Barnwell would rate as “a major disappointment for the Giants after they took him seventh overall, just ahead of Charles Cross and approximately 27 very good wide receivers.”
This much shuffling around him only underscores just how far Neal has fallen short of expectations as a top-10 pick. He was supposed to be the perfect bookend for quality left tackle Andrew Thomas, but Neal’s ongoing issues have been well-documented.
Those struggles are why projections are already established for Van Roten to help force Neal out of the starting lineup.
Greg Van Roten Can Be An Instant Asset for Giants
Not only will Van Roten’s rapport with Eluemunor ensure a quick transition to Bricillo’s blocking schemes. Van Roten can also be an instant asset for a Giants’ O-line that surrendered a league-high 85 sacks last season.
He was “13th of 85 Guards in pass blocking efficiency in 2023. He gave up 5 sacks 3 hits & 13 pressures,” per Bobby Skinner of Talkin’ Giants.
Van Roten showed out with a flawless pass-blocking display against the Giants in Week 9, per PFF Las Vegas Raiders.
Greg Van Roten vs. the Giants
25 pass blocking snaps
0 sacks allowed
0 pressures allowed
🏴☠️
Bricillo will be confident about putting Van Roten into the starting lineup, and it makes sense to put him on the right next to Eluemunor and maintain familiarity. Even if it means more bad news for Neal.