Not many players on the New York Giants have more speculation around them than Daniel Jones. The team invested big time to get Jones. He stood out among the rookies of the NFL last year while replacing Eli Manning. This year, Jones has a full offseason to train and a full season as the starter. A lot of people are expecting a step up from the second year QB.
According to ESPN, some of those people are even high level executives and players. ESPN spoke with a number of execs, scouts, and players, to build a ranking list for last year’s quarterback class. Kyler Murray came in as the top player. The second best? Daniel Jones.
Daniel Jones ranked second in the 2019 QB class
It’s arguable if Jones had the best season out of the 2019 rookies at the position. But according to this list, Jones has one of the best future potentials out of that group. In fact, only Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals received a more optimistic rating.
But Jones still finished 18th in QBR at 53.6, and threw for 24 touchdown passes in 12 starts. That last stat is significant. Mayfield’s rookie-record 27 touchdowns came in 13 starts and most of a 14th game in 2018. Peyton Manning and Wilson once shared the record at 26, and each started all 16 games in their first year.
The article mentions how Jones threw an almost record number of touchdowns as a rookie while not starting as many games as the other players who have held the record for rookie touchdowns. Also, there’s apparently at least one veteran quarterback in the league that thinks good things about Jones so far.
One veteran NFL quarterback tried to call Jones “sneaky athletic,†which was meant as a compliment, but his 4.81 40 time and a 33.5-inch vertical leap say he’s simply athletic.
“Throws the ball well, really smart, big and tall,†the quarterback said. “Giants can work with that.â€
The Giants can work with Jones indeed. They’re relying on Jones arguably more than any of their other players headed into the 2020 season, and this year looks like a make or break one for the sophomore quarterback. But there’s a pretty good feeling around the team’s future with Jones right now.
It looks like Giants fans aren’t the only ones that share that feeling.