The New York Giants spent a top-10 selection on offensive tackle Evan Neal in the 2022 NFL Draft. Out of Alabama, Neal was arguably the best offensive line prospect in his draft class.

With Andrew Thomas on the left side, New York drafted Neal to solidify the right side of the offensive line. But Neal's rookie season was full of growing pains as he made the move to the NFL level.

Fortunately, things are already looking promising for the rising second year lineman. Neal showed sings of growth in the latest Giants preseason action. He played with more confidence and demonstrated improvement in the snaps that he saw.

Neal was paving lanes in the run game and performed well in pass protection, too. The Panthers did get a sack on him on a stunt, but the second-year tackle had much more bright spots than low lights.

In fact, Giants head coach Brian Daboll even took notice of Neal and the progress that he made during his first preseason action of the year. Daboll said that he thought that Neal "showed well" versus the Panthers on Friday evening.

LOOK AT EVAN NEALpic.twitter.com/efq4VcWptb

— Ryan (@ryanhatesports) August 19, 2023

Obviously, Neal taking the next step would be huge for the Giants offensive success. Thomas has emerged as one of the best in the NFL on the left side. There is optimism surrounding rookie center John Michael Schmitz, too.

A breakout season from Neal would go a long way in solving the issues that the Giants have had up front. And, more importantly, give Daniel Jones enough time to get the ball to weapons like Darren Waller, Jalin Hyatt and Saquon Barkley.

It's difficult to take too much away from preseason football. But Evan Neal played well enough to offer some real encouragement as New York preps for week one against the Dallas Cowboys.

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