If there’s one thing that New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning has proved over the course of his career, it’s that you don’t need to be a mobile passer to win the Super Bowl. Tom Brady can further attest to that statement, but the Giants are taking the position in a bit of a different direction with rookie, Daniel Jones.
Comparing both Jones and Manning is easy – they both utilized coach David Cutcliffe to help them develop their fundamentals and professionalism. Jones’ arm technique closely mirrors the Manning’s, it’s almost scary. His attitude towards the media and outlook on life is as bland as Eli’s, but the rookie has one major advantage to his game.
Daniel can run, fast…
When the Giants drafted the Duke product with the 6th overall selection, they were looking at the tangible and intangible traits he brings. Replicating Manning is a great thing, especially if he can mimic his past success, and star running back Saquon Barkley has already advocated for Jones and his abilities.
The rookie quarterback has already begun putting his separating skill on display, taking a read-option for a big gain faking out the entire defense in the first day of minicamp.
https://twitter.com/Giants/status/1136037413350977536
Having that addition attribute will benefit the offense in two ways. It will allow head coach Pat Shurmur to utilize Jones on roll-out passes, and it will force the defense to appropriate a QB spy on Daniel, taking a player out of coverage and focusing him on the quarterback.
It will open up the field for his receivers and Barkley in the flat. If the Giants can get Barkley in man-coverage, it will put them in an advantageous position to move the ball down the field.
Manning has limited the efficiency of the offense at times, as his inability to run allows the defense to sit back in coverage and void his progressions. It’s a simple system that relies heavily on time provided by the offensive line and quality route running, if those two factors down mesh, Manning struggles and is forced to check down to Barkley or a crossing route.
Jones will open up a different portion of Shurmur’s playbook, something that will be very exciting to watch in the future.