The expectations are not high for both the New York Giants and their quarterback Daniel Jones. Coming off a season where Jones dealt with injuries and more on-field struggles, the outlook on the team for the 2024 season is bleak, especially with Saquon Barkley no longer with the team.
Daniel Jones is not viewed as a high-value quarterback
Many around the league don’t expect Jones to have a 2022-type resurgence this season. The Athletic’s Mike Sando put out a five-tier ranking of every starting quarterback in the NFL, which was voted by various league executives and anonymous head coaches. The results placed Jones in the fourth tier of the ranking:
“Would you rather have Jones on a $40 million annual salary or, say, Jacoby Brissett at one-fifth the cost? Those were the sorts of questions voters considered as Jones returns from a torn ACL in what could be a make-or-break season for him and for Giants leadership,” Sando wrote.
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Jones is set up to succeed in 2024
Jones has a new look to his offense this season, as he finally has a true WR1 target at his disposal in rookie Malik Nabers. In addition, his offensive line is vastly improved thanks to the additions of Jermaine Eluemunor and Jon Runyan Jr. and Andrew Thomas returning to full health. Head coach Brian Daboll is also now in full control of the play-calling as they look to be a more dynamic group.
Aside from the 2022 season, this is arguably the best situation Jones has been in to succeed in his entire career. The Giants elected not to draft a quarterback this year with the hope that fixing the pieces around him would yield better results, but this is undoubtedly the year to determine if he is the answer long-term.
Despite the team’s low expectations, the Giants need Jones to perform at a decent level at least to continue rebuilding around him instead of a different quarterback. The preseason wasn’t particularly pretty for him, as he threw two interceptions in the lone half of action he got against the Houston Texans.
Hopefully, Jones was simply shaking off the rust of having not played in a game in several months, but the early results weren’t encouraging. Jones will be playing this season with a massive chip on his shoulder, and he will have a lot to prove in 2024 to remain the Giants’ starter beyond this season.
