The Post’s Paul Schwartz makes his predictions for who the Giants will take in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
No. 5: Evan Neal, OT, Alabama
Will he still be on the board? Here’s a hunch that Ickey Ekwonu is the first offensive tackle selected and that Neal is sitting there for the Giants. What a prize. Neal has “starting right tackle” plastered all over his massive 6-foot-7, 337-pound frame.
He never missed a game in college because of injury in three years playing at the highest level and should be an immediate force as a run blocker. Must overcome some balance issues and get more aggressive, though. A classic building block to pair with 23-year-old left tackle Andrew Thomas.
No. 7: Derek Stingley Jr., CB, LSU
Figure Sauce Gardner is off the board — quite possibly to the Jets at No. 4 — and the available edge rushers do not enthral the Giants. They go with an absolute stud with great size, ability and ball-hawking instincts. He showed at his Pro Day he is fully recovered from Lisfranc foot surgery.
With James Bradberry expected to be traded away for salary cap relief, Stingley will allow new defensive coordinator Wink Martindale to operate with the aggressiveness he desires.
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