As the New York Giants prepared for the first round of the 2022 NFL draft, there were only so many possible options unless, of course, they traded out of No. 5 or No. 7.
The Giants ultimately stayed in place and didn’t trade either of their first-round picks, ending up with two players who they hope can be cornerstones on the team for years to come — Kayvon Thibodeaux and Evan Neal.
Both picks seem like steals to a lot of experts as they were both expected to go earlier than they did in numerous mock drafts in the last year.
Bleacher Report recently released their list of Every Team’s Best-Value Selection and for Big Blue, the pick of Neal at seventh overall was the one recognized on the list:
The Giants put themselves in a position to have a franchise-altering first round and executed to perfection.
The team landed the top two prospects on the B/R Scouting Department’s big board, getting Kayvon Thibodeaux at No. 5 overall and Evan Neal at No. 7 overall.
Both moves represented immense value, given they each were in the discussion for the No. 1 overall pick. Neal gets a slight edge as the most valuable of the two selections due to the higher chance he sticks around for a long time as an anchor along a Big Blue offensive line that sorely needs all the help it can get.
Neal was dominant during his time at Alabama, going head-to-head with some of the top pass-rushers in the nation and winning most of his battles. He locked down top overall pick Travon Walker in their matchups and allowed a total of four sacks over the past two years.
He’s almost certain to start in Year 1, manning the same right tackle spot that the Crimson Tide deployed him at as a junior in 2020. With Andrew Thomas on the left, the G-Men have an enviable set of bookends to build the offensive trenches around.
Neal will, of course, join 2020 first-round pick (fourth overall) Andrew Thomas along the offensive line for what will hopefully two solid long-term solutions.
Bleacher Report’s scouting team was actually extremely high on both Giants first-rounders (Thibodeaux and Neal) as they had them ranked No. 1 and No. 2 on their final big board ahead of the 2022 NFL draft.
