Evan Neal
OT Alabama 6-7 337 JR #73
GRADE: 92 OVR RANK: 10 POS RANK: (OT) 2
ARM LENGTH: 34”//HAND SIZE: 10 1/8”//40YD: ( %)//10YD: ( %)
VJ: ( %)//BJ: ( %)//BP: ( %)//SS: ( %)//3C: ( %)
Projection: Starting LT who will protect the QB with efficiency and consistency, fits slightly better in a Zone Blocking Scheme but his run blocking in general needs work to be more than occasionally functional at the next level. Draft Projection: Top 5 ~ GrindingTheMocks.com
Ravens Fit: The Ravens need help in pass protection and Neal would bring this immediately. He would stabilize one spot on the OL – probably RT but could also play LG and could fill in for Stanley at LT if his injury problems persist. Neal is intelligent and versatile but if Ronnie Stanley is healthy, he’s a book-end pass protector at RT and not a dominant run-blocker. The Ravens probably can’t afford to pass up on his pass protection chops at 14 overall if he makes it but his run blocking for any scheme but especially a heavier Gap scheme needs work.
Overall Fit 
3/5
Pass Protection
Excellent pass protector who you can trust to protect the Quarterback in all situations. He has efficient footwork in his pass sets, especially when setting vertically he moves powerfully with intent and purpose. He slides naturally and with deliberate steps he maintains the half-man relationship with all types of pass rusher. His best trait is his hand timing and placement which is consistently excellent, whether using an inside strike, outside strike or two-handed strike, he knows instinctively when (half-man) and where (strike-zone) to place his hands. He has good hip mobility to open up to the outside when facing stunts and games. He has excellent mental processing to anticipate the stunt and set himself up to deal with it. When he has to spend longer with the Guard to secure the outside-in guy and there is an athletic looper to the outside he can struggle to get to his mark to defend the outside due to his lack of elite lateral explosion but he competes in this regard.
He has great awareness and appears to be leading his teammates in the identification of more complex pass rush combinations. He has a good anchor and good functional strength to combat any speed to power moves and good power step to combat inside counters. He will center himself when he anchors with good functional strength and hand-fight to re-engage effectively. Against more powerful pass-rushers with an effective long arm move he can be susceptible to being walked back but he will compete with even the best on this front and deploy his anchor in time to defeat the rush. He is never out of control in his pass-sets, he plays within himself and with patience, he always has leverage and while he doesn’t appear to have great power in his hands, when the fight starts at the junction point, he rarely loses because of his technical expertise.
Run Blocking
More of a pusher than an exploder. In gap and power blocks he will stalemate against good competition and get some push against lesser competition but he doesn’t often move people significantly unless in combination but he could have more awareness when working in combination to adjust to what the defender gives them i.e. move to the second level quicker when a DL resets levels against the Deuce Block. In both Gap/Power blocks and Zone/Space blocks, his feet don’t follow his hands effectively on the finish portion of the block so he can over-extend and not maintain his body control/balance and fall away. In blocks out in space and Zone blocks like Reach he can position well, but he doesn’t fit his hands effectively and so can’t finish effectively.
SUMMARY
Efficient technician in pass protection with excellent punch timing and placement. Stalemate pusher in run blocking rather than explosive dominator
PRODUCTION
N/A OL
3 Year Starter, playing RG (FR), RT (SO) & LT (JR) INJURY: None
RAVENS FIT
Toughness 3
Intelligence 5
Versatility 5
Grit 3
Scheme 2
