Evan Neal is expected to be one of the first offensive tackles taken in the NFL Draft later this week, but a report from Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer casts doubt on the former Alabama lineman going near the top of the draft.

A handful of teams have raised knee and hip issues to me concerning Alabama OT Evan Neal, with a good number of clubs considering him a notable medical risk. That doesn’t mean Neal won’t have a good, long career. But I could absolutely see where Jacksonville or Houston, or another team, may look at Neal versus NC State OT Ickey Ekwonu, who has a very clean medical, and take the guy who’s a better bet to last.

It turns out, Breer believes Neal, Ekwonu and Mississippi State’s Charles Cross will, for what it’s worth, all wind up going inside the top 6 picks.

Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean also has medical questions, and that has caused former teammate Quay Walker as a contender to go first at the position.

The questions with Walker are more about his football IQ and how quickly he’ll pick up an NFL defense. Yes, he played in a pro-style scheme at Georgia. But he didn’t become a starter, despite being 6’4″ and 241 pounds and running a 40-yard dash in the 4.5s, until his fourth season in Athens.