Giants training camp notes: Evan Neal admits dropping weight

Darren Waller sees ‘both sides’ of running back issue

New York Giants second-year right tackle said Friday that his stance was not the only thing he worked on this offseason. The 6-foot-7 Neal said he also changed his body, dropping 10-15 pounds and gaining muscle.

Neal seemed to indicate that he had been around 360 pounds at times last year, and said he finished the year at 353 pounds. He said he weighed in at 345 pounds this week.

“I definitely put on more muscle and got leaner,” Neal said. “I’m in a lot better shape, I feel a lot healthier, and I feel a lot more confident in the offense as well, for sure.

Neal changed his eating habits this offseason.

“I’ve always worked out hard, I’ve always trained extremely hard,” he said. “I was a lot more conscious about my diet. I hired a chef and it was really helpful in terms of what I was putting in my body.”

Neal worked this offseason to find a more comfortable stance, getting some help from former All-Pro right tackle Willie Anderson. This will be the first year since high school that Neal has played the same position on the offensive line in consecutive seasons.

“I feel very comfortable,” Neal said. “I felt great out there the past two days. I’m just going to use the rest of camp to continue to hone in on those skills … I feel like I’m never going to be a finished product.”

Neal had a rough rookie season that included missing time with an MCL injury. He did not offer any excuses, saying only that “last year was last year,” though he did admit injuries made the year “more challenging.”

Quote of the day

“I saw him walk in with a three-piece suit, so I kinda knew what time it was.”

— Evan Neal on learning about Andrew Thomas’s contract extension

Darren Waller sees ‘both sides’ of RB value debate

Giants’ tight end Darren Waller spent the last few seasons playing with Raiders’ running back Josh Jacobs, who is now holding out after being franchise-tagged. He now plays with Saquon Barkley, who signed an amended tag this week.

Waller was asked Thursday for his thoughts on the devaluation of the running back position. As thoughtful as Waller is, it should be no surprise that he gave an excellent answer.

“There’s two sides to it, and there’s truth on both sides with the running back position,” Waller said. “Those guys take a beating. I haven’t been around Saquon during the course of a season but beating around Josh he takes a beating as hard as he would run every week during the season.

“If you’re in the front office you take that into account — the beating that they take you don’t really know how long they may last or what may happen, but also you can’t just go out on the street and find anybody that’s like a Josh Jacobs or a Saquon Barkley. Those guys bring such value. Both sides have something to stand on, and I don’t necessarily know a solution, but I know that they have a little bit of merit on both sides. It’s a tough situation.”