If they really had done that, it was because they needed someone who looked like dylan. I honestly don’t think they have any long term plans for Neal, they made it pretty clear that it’s Hook they want, no matter how it doesn’t make sense and that they had to sacrifice characters for this pairing to make any kind of sense.
This is just not true. They planned for Neal to be Emma’s love interest. Everything about how his character was introduced and discussed all through Season 1 then opening Season 2 showing him in New York suggests that. The fact that they decided to keep Hook on after he filmed an episode doesn’t mean he was wanted or part of the plan. He became part of the plan when they threw out the original plan.