Evan Neal’s 2024 position, and other Giants notes from the Combine

GM Joe Schoen talks about Neal, Mike Kafka, Shane Bowen and more

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Hoping the New York Giants will move embattled 2022 NFL Draft No. 7 overall pick Evan Neal to guard for the 2024 season? You might wind up disappointed.

Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine, GM Joe Schoen did not appear to be considering moving Neal inside in his third season to try and rescue what has thus far been a disappointing NFL career.

“Still have confidence in him at right tackle,” Schoen said, reiterating the stance he took in his 2023 season-ending press conference in January.

Schoen said that Neal has been at the Giants’ facility in East Rutherford, N.J. rehabbing from ankle surgery and that he is “getting healthy” and “progressing nicely.”

The GM did admit that improving an offensive line that surrendered a league-worst 85 sacks and was ranked 30th in the NFL in run blocking by Pro Football Focus will be “a priority” this offseason.

“There were some games that we didn’t play very well,” Schoen said. “And again, it’s a revolving door and that’s five players have to be working together. It’s almost half your offense. And when your revolving door and practice squad guys are up there and the lack of communication that’ll show up when you’re playing some of those good teams that we played early on in the season. So, we need to improve as a starting five and we need to improve the depth and that’ll be a priority of this offseason.”

Sticking to the plan

There has been speculation that Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll need to produce results in Year 3 of their regime or potentially face losing their jobs. Schoen said he wants to stick to the long-term plan of building through the draft and creating something that could stand the test of time rather than try for a quick fix.

“It’s a build. I know today’s society it’s, and some of it’s maybe because of how things were done before I was here in terms of the cycle, but it’s a build and it takes time. And when I was in Buffalo, we didn’t win a playoff game until our fourth season. But there was a plan in place,” Schoen said. “You draft, well, you develop your players, you supplement it with free agents, but it takes time. It’s not going to happen overnight. And you don’t want to be picking in the top 10, obviously I don’t wanna be picking in the top 10, but it’s gonna take time.”

Schoen said pressure to win in 2024 is self-imposed.

“There’s always pressure. There’s always pressure, and you wanna win. It’s not outside noise. It’s pressure on myself. I don’t like to lose, I don’t wanna go through that again. I want to win,” Schoen said. “But there’s also a right way to do it. And if you try to expedite it or cheat the process again there can be pitfalls there and it can set you back. So again, we have a plan in place, we want to continue to execute it. And again, the goal is to sustain success, not have one good year like we did last year, then take a step back. So the ability to compete every year is what the goal is and that’s what we’re aiming for.”

Defensive changes?

With Shane Bowen replacing Wink Martindale as defensive coordinator, Schoen knows the team’s defense is going to change somewhat.

“We’re probably not going to blitz as much as we did in the past. We’re going to be very sound. It’s going to be very similar to what they did in Tennessee,” Schoen said. “I think the upfield pass rush is going to be more of a premium versus the read and react. Maybe a little bit less man coverage, but we’re gonna be physical, fast, and we’re going to be sound in our assignments.”

Schoen said he didn’t think the Giants would have to adjust personnel to fit Bowen’s style.

“Bill Parcells told me a long time ago, coaches come and go so you better not pick them [players] scheme specific because if we had scheme specific guys, now they’re no good to this new scheme,” he said. “So as we picked players or signed them in free agency, the versatility is very important to these players. So the ability to play in multiple schemes was always in the back of our mind when we picked these guys.”

Keeping Mike Kafka

The Giants recently denied offensive coordinator Mike Kafka a chance to interview for the offensive coordinator position with the Seattle Seahawks, which would have been a lateral move for Kafka. The Giants then subsequently added the title ‘assistant head coach’ to Kafka’s job description.

Why were the Giants adamant about keeping Kafka?

“There’s no tension there. Mike’s a really good coach, he’s a great teammate. He’s an asset around the building and he’s a young coach. He’s been a coordinator for two years and we elevated and gained the new title ‘cause we’re gonna continue to develop him as a head coach,” Schoen said. “Obviously there’s a lot of like for him around the league. He’s in demand. He was a finalist for two jobs over the last couple years and he’s earned it. He’s a really good coach. He’s got a bright future and he’s an asset to the organization. So yeah, there’s no tension between Mike and, and Dabs.”