Todd McShay explains why Alabama tackle Evan Neal tops his 2022 NFL Draft board

Mock Draft season is in full force, and two prominent draft analysts already disagree about the No. 1 overall pick. Many predictions have Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson going atop the board, but ESPN analyst Todd McShay went another direction.

McShay predicted Alabama offensive lineman Evan Neal to go No. 1 to the Jacksonville Jaguars this year with Hutchinson going No. 2 to the Detroit Lions. That’s the opposite of what fellow ESPN analyst Mel Kiper predicted in his “Mock Draft 1.0,” and McShay explained his decision on Wednesday during his “Mock Draft 2.0” show.

He made a pretty convincing case, too.

“[Neal] can plug in at left tackle, he can play right tackle, he’s played guard before,” McShay told Kiper and Field Yates. “He only allowed one sack the entire season [and] it was in the national championship game. So you’re talking about 360-plus pounds who can move. You don’t see many guys like this in the world. In the run game, he’s absolutely dominant. He can get out on the second level, he can work in the zone. He does a little bit of everything, and the Jaguars obviously need to protect their investment of Trevor Lawrence.

“I thought about pass-rusher here with Aidan Hutchinson, the defensive end from Michigan, but ultimately I went with the guy in Neal that I think would make Doug Pederson, the new head coach, happy in terms of what they’re trying to do offensively. Run the football, protect their quarterback. Remember, when he won a Super Bowl with the Eagles, they had the best offensive line in the National Football League.”

Mel Kiper believes Evan Neal has competition to be first lineman taken

During ESPN’s SportsCenter Special with NFL draft analysts Mel Kiper and Todd McShay last month, the two went back and forth discussing the former’s first 2022 mock draft based on his scouting and the things he is hearing around the league. As they worked through the picks, Alabama offensive lineman Evan Neal to the Houston Texans at No. 3 stood out.

“You think about Evan Neal, you think about the versatility he brings to that offensive line with Houston,” Kiper said. “Laremy Tunsil, could he be traded?

“You think about where Houston will be with left tackle, with Neal. Could be at right tackle. Start him there. Start him at guard. He is a mountain of a man. Certainly, a guy very experienced and tremendously versatile. So he gives that offensive line – depending on the pieces that are still there – the ability to make an impact right away because he’s played and started at three different positions along the offensive line for the Crimson Tide at Alabama.”

Todd McShay then offered his thoughts on Evan Neal, ranking him as the top offensive lineman in the draft class over the likes of Ikem Ekwonu, Charles Cross and Tyler Linderbaum.