Evan Neal Drafted No. 7 Overall By the New York Giants
The New York Giants drafted former Alabama offensive tackle Evan Neal with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Neal is the first Alabama player to be selected in the draft this year, and has kept the trend of the school having a player drafted inside the top 10 going for a fourth straight year, with 2019 having Quinnen Williams, 2020 having Tua Tagovailoa and Jedrick Wills and 2021 having Jaylen Waddle, Patrick Surtain II and DeVonta Smith all going within their respective drafts' top 10s. He also brings the school's total number of years of having at least one first round draft pick to 14 straight, which ties the Miami Hurricanes (1995-2008) for the NFL record of most straight years.
In the Nick Saban era at Alabama, Neal comes in as the No. 40 player to be drafted in the first round, and marks Saban having a first rounder in 14 of the 15 drafts that has taken place since he's been the head coach of the Crimson Tide, with his first draft class in 2008 being the only one that didn't have one.
Neal played for the Crimson Tide for three years (2019-2021), where he started all three years and blocked for Tagovailoa, Mac Jones, and Heisman winner Bryce Young during each of his years respectively. Some of his accomplishments during his collegiate career was being named a Consensus All-American (2021), First-team All-SEC (2021), helping the school win two SEC Championships (2020, 2021) and a CFP National Championship (2020).
He was the second offensive tackle picked in this year's draft, behind N.C. State's Ikem Ekwonu, who was drafted No. 6 overall to the Carolina Panthers.
Neal will join new Giant's head coach Brian Daboll, who was Alabama's offensive coordinator and quarterback's coach during the 2017 season, in which the Tide won their second CFP National Championship against Georgia.